


Crazy Bitty Lady

by ViridianSouls



Category: Fellswap - Fandom, Swaptale, Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bittytale - Freeform, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Undertale bitties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 06:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 41,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30017745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViridianSouls/pseuds/ViridianSouls
Summary: You frowned at another Bitty Bones add that popped up on the game you were playing on your phone. These guys were brand new, and already had lamia additions. They were pretty cute and all, but weren't there enough bitties in the world? There surely is no need for so many more...right?
Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, W. D. Gaster/Reader
Comments: 18
Kudos: 79





	1. Newest Trend: Bitty Bones

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story is already finished, but I’m going to be posting chapters of it here. This is my pride and joy, so I hope anyone who reads it enjoys it too!

Ads, posters, and commercials were all raving about the same thing over and over again. Skeleton bitties. From the cute sleepy Softy, to the easily irritated Bossy. They were everywhere. No matter where you went, or what you did, you always saw the little bags of bones, even though their type is many months old. Sansys and Baby Blues seemed to be the most popular at the moment, with everyone posting pictures of said bitties. You thought they were cute, but never had the motivation or time to adopt one.

You winced as you passed a screaming toddler and their very embarrassed parent. The toddler kept pointing at someone's Papy bitty, and clawing at their parent's arm, who kept trying to pick them up and leave the scene they were making. You just wanted to do your weekly shopping spree. You had no more eggs, and lactade pills were running too low for comfort. The store you usually go to is closed for the day. Apparently, they already have a Bitty Bones infestation. Which is when a bunch of homeless bitties team up to take over a building. It was sad that it was already happening, especially so soon after they were introduced.

You walked into the grocery store that has taken your spot as second best. You grabbed a cart and began to grab essentials. Eggs, bread, milk, toothpaste, that sort of stuff. You had been trying to reach a bag of York candies when something slammed into your legs. You yelped accidentally flinging a bag off the shelf, and nearly falling on your butt. You steady yourself and look down to see a...pair of Swap Bitty Bones? The Baby Blue was clutching your pants leg so tight, you thought the fabric might snap under the force. The strangest thing about the Baby Blue, was his eyelights were completely gone. The 'Lil Bro beside him radiated magic, you could feel the crackling where the hem of your pants showed your ankles.

"He-Hey, little guys," You cooed softly, they flinched. "What's wrong? Are you two okay?"

"WE ARE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE. COULD YOU PLEASE HELP US?" A surprisingly loud voice came from the 'Lil Bro, as if he...wasn't really a 'Lil Bro.

"it's a bit of a small problem, we could really use some big help." The supposedly Baby Blue spoke in a slow tired voice, and that when you realized that this pair wasn't a Swap set, but a Tale set dressed up in Swap clothes. Your heart broke as you leaned down to pick them up.

"Y-Yeah, I'll help don't worry." You leaned down to pick them up, but stopped and lied your hand down flat so they could step on it. They both relaxed slightly and stepped on, immediately making they're way onto your shoulders. You stood slowly, as to not knock them down and brought what you have already gathered to a register. You payed as quickly as you could while talking to the employee in front of you.

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone come in with these bitties?" You asked, almost desperately.

"Sorry Miss." The teen said awkwardly. "I would've noticed these two cuties." They glanced at the bitties on your shoulders. Before you could say anything else the Sansy (dressed up as a Baby Blue) leaned closer to your ear.

"just bring us to ethyls' bitties and lamias. we know what we're doing." His voice was quiet, but strong.

“Alright." You mumble and nodded at the employee. "Thanks anyway. Have a good day." You grabbed the cart and pushed it out of the store and to your car. "Are you two hiding from someone?" You ask quietly.

“YOU COULD SAY THAT." The Papy's voice was incredibly loud in your ear, but you just cringe lightly.

"Do you know where this Ethyl's place is?" You ask as you pack away your groceries in the trunk of your car.

"it's down by the new drug store run by a goat monster. you seem like someone who knows tully. she knows the bitty store owner." The Sansy explained shortly. You, fortunately knew where that was. Since you accompanied a friend there. Atlas was so anxious, the poor thing. You let them hold bitties the next store over as a reward for not shaking like a caffeinated chihuahua.

"Yeah, I know where it's at. Thanks." You pushed the cart away and closed your trunk, before getting into your car. Papy and Sansy hopped off your shoulders and onto the dashboard of your car. You bucked up and began the journey to 'Ethyl's Bitty & Lamia Care/Adoption'.

“AREN'T YOU GOING TO ASK WHY WE'RE DRESSED LIKE SWAP BITTIES?" The Papy asked, confused. Neither of the bitties spoke until now, you glanced at the Papy and shook your head.

"I didn't want to seem rude. But I inferred that whoever adopted you either wanted Swap brothers, or you were a gift to someone who wanted Swap brothers."

"you're not far from the truth. you that good at reading people?" The Sansy joked.

"I mean-I guess." You just shrugged. "Something are obvious. Somethings are less obvious." You pursed your lips and turned into a driveway that held the two stores you were looking for. You parked in the nearly empty lot and turned off your car. "Looks like we're here." You mumbled more so to yourself. You held out your hands and the bitties climbed onto your shoulders like they had done before. You closed and locked your car after they got settled and made your way to the door.

Apparently, all the cars in the lot were for the 'Tully's Pharmacy' and not for the bitty shop. The bell rang as you opened the door and a low bit of murmuring erupted into greetings, making you smile and relax. The owner of the shop stood up rather fast, and made his way over to greet you. He was an average height bipedal axolotl fish monster, his expression went from happy, to disappointed in a matter of seconds.

"Bunsen. Burner." He referred to the Sansy and Papy on your shoulders. "What are you two doing back here? And what in the world are you wearing?" The bitties seemed to curl in on themselves as Ethyl spoke. "And you," He looked at you. "Thank you for bringing them back here." He scooped the bitties from your shoulders and hurried back to his desk, motioning you to follow.

“Uhm, are they okay?" You asked, confused. "Is something wrong with them? Are they hurt?" You sounded slightly more panicked.

"No no no." Ethyl reassured you. "I'm just getting them out of those Swap clothes. They need to be comfortable here. And they obviously haven't been getting the affection they need." The fish monster frowned.

"yeah, pretty neglectful of us to just off and swap our feelings." The Sansy joked. The Papy just sighed, done with his assigned brother's puns.

"Bunsen, please don't joke about that." Ethyl pleaded, bringing out soft looking Tale bitty clothes. "Where did you find them?" He asked after giving the clothes to the respectful bitty. They both hid to change into the clothes.

“They actually found me at the Target not too far from here." You explained. "They nearly knocked me over they came at me so hard."

"They must have really needed to get away." He mumbled. "I'm not surprised Burner picked you. Bunsen would have tried to get here on his own, instead of asking for any kind of help."

"Do you mean he saw my aura and thought, 'HEY, THAT'S A GOOD PERSON, THEY'LL HELP US!' and yeeted them both at me?" You cringed as Ethyl let out a surprised laugh.

"Pretty much! Not everyone knows bitties can see auras! How do you know?"

"I have little to no social life and too much time on my hands."

He let out another laugh, and you swore you heard Bunsen and a few other bitties chuckle as well.

“Well, I'm glad you could get these two over here and safe. You're welcome here anytime, erm...?" He trailed of, and you snapped to attention.

"Oh! (Y/n), (Y/n) (L/n)!" You held out your hand for him to shake.

"Right then, Miss (Y/n). Come over anytime you want. We love visitors!" Ethyl took your hand and shook it firmly. Bunsen and Burner were already done changing and had tossed their old clothes into a pile on the desk. They both looked a lot more comfortable and in their field.

“THANK YOU VERY MUCH MISS (Y/N) FOR HELPING US!" Burner chirped happily and hugged the hand you just set down.

"Of course." You absolutely radiate from the thanks. "I'm glad I got to meet you two."

“thanks kid." Bunsen nodded to you, and you nodded back at him.

You had ended up stay there longer than you expected, and had physically balked at the time on your watch. You still had milk and eggs in your trunk!

"I'll make sure to give you a tour when you have more time!" Ethyl called after you as you bolted to your car with rushed goodbyes.

You made it to your apartment in record time and lugged all of you bags up to the fourth floor. You manged to put all your groceries away faster than usual, but your pears had gone a little mushy. Which was sad because you loved pears.

After your panic of putting food away, you got into pajamas and flopped on the couch to turn on your tv. An empty feeling in your chest made itself known at the utter silence of the room. No pets to make any noise, because you weren't home long enough to have a pet, and no significant other, because no one wanted to date you apparently. You missed the constant chatter of the bitty shop. Hopefully Ethyl wouldn't find it weird if you stopped by again after work tomorrow...


	2. Achievement Unlocked: Adopted A Lamia

You wrung your hands nervously as you walked to your car. Your shift had just ended, thankfully, and you were fully intending to take Ethyl up on his offer of coming by when ever you wanted. You felt like you deserved to hold some precious beans such as bitties. You even managed to not snap when an older lady insulted you! You had yourself several time this morning from persuading yourself into not going to Ethyl's. You were in a lot of inner turmoil, and only Bitties would calm you at the moment. Too bad you couldn't adopt one. Of course you had money for the supplies, you just didn't have time to care for one.

You hopped into your car and swiftly made your way to Ethyl's Bitty Shop. You twitched every so often, mainly because Ebott drivers were more insane than from where you came from. You didn't know who would do what, and if they were turning or not (blinkers are there for a reason, Ford truck.) You pulled into the spot that you had used yesterday, and jumped out of your seat. You felt excited, but you didn't want to scare any bitty you get to hold today. You locked your car and made your way to the shop doors. You shivered as a particularly chilly gust of wind made your hair sway. You walked into the shop and the bell chimed happily as the door hit it.

The warm air hit you, and you smiled broadly as all of the bitties greeted you enthusiastically, making your shoulders droop. Ethyl perked up from his desk and broke away from his conversation with Tully, the pharmacy's owner next door.

"(Y/n)! It's good to see you taking up on my offer!" He said a few low words to Tully before making his way over to you.

"Yeah I'm glad I did too." You said quietly, trying to not be too loud and wake up the sleeping Softys in the nearby enclosure.

"Is that the human that brought back Bunsen and Burner?" Tully asked, walking up to Ethyl and you.

"Yes, she is!" Ethyl beamed and Tully smiled at you gently.

"How's Atlas doing? Are they feeling better at all?"

You relaxed (when did you get tense again?), and nodded slowly at her. "Atlas said they've never felt lighter than they do now. Thanks for helping them."

"It's my pleasure, I'm glad to hear they're doing better." Tully patted Ethyl's arm and whispered something before going to a door that connected the two shops and disappeared behind it. 

"Isn't she the best?" Ethyl sighed dreamily and a light went off over your head. Ethyl and Tully are a couple! Why didn't you notice that before? You chuckled lightly to yourself. They do make a cute couple, too. "If you want, I can give you a tour. Or you can roam around by yourself." The fish monster said after a few moments.

"I'll just walk around. You can give me a tour if I come by tomorrow." You chirped. He nodded and waved you away before going back to his desk. Before you disappeared behind all the enclosures, you saw the mountain of paperwork he slowly dragged over to him. You winced, no wonder he wants the distraction.

You walked around the shop, stopping every once in a while to talk to a few Baby Blues or Papys that saw you. All the bitties you saw looked healthy and clean, and apparently, this shop only had Skeleton Bitties. As you walked around, greeting and talking to bitties, you saw a clean clear pool and little purple lamias swimming around happily in the water. You glanced at the sign next to the pool, which it stated, "Krait Lamia Bitties: The Original Gaster Lamia.

Fun Fact: These bitties love water! They constantly swim, and are born knowing how to do so!

Caretaking Fact: Krait Lamias are one of the most affectionate lamias. They need more affection that most other bitties and lamia. They become touch starved very easily and Fall Down if no one gives them the love they need." 

You nearly gasped when a few of the Kraits took notice of you and swam out of the water. They dried off quickly and came over to greet you. Some of them looked younger than others, others looked older, but all of them had the same scars on their skulls. A crack that connects to their right socket and goes over their skull, and a crack that connects to their left socket down to their teeth.

You sat down close to the pool and allowed all of the cuddly lamias slither onto you when ever they wanted. They asked you questions, many, many questions. You couldn't answer all of them, but you sure as heck tried.

"Oh!" One of the younger sound Kraits exclaimed after about five minutes of talking. "I forgot! I'm Einstein! What's your name?"

"I'm (Y/n)." You smiled at him and rubbed a finger across his skull, earning a happy purr. The other Kraits began telling you their names as well. There was Void, Lo, Eldrich, Hobbit, Alien, Venom, Slick, and of course Einstein. There was a lamia on your shoulder that didn't speak, so you didn't force him to. You gave all of the bitties all of your attention and affection, so much so the practically glowed after ten minutes of talking. Hesitantly, you told them that you wanted to walk around some more and they pouted (well, as much as a skeleton could anyway). But they respected you and slowly slithered away, except for the quiet Krait on your shoulders.

"All right big guy." You sighed, trying to very gently pick up the bitty who was trying in vain to be a very warm necklace. "I'll come back, don't worry. You'll see more of me later." You thought you heard him whisper a quiet 'I hope.' but it was too soft in the white noise of the shop.

"Pogo!" One of the older Kraits called, and the lamia in your hands flinched. "Let her go! You'll be fine. She isn't going to disappear as soon as you let go!" Pogo, you cringed slightly at the misfitting name, tensed for a second before going limp in your hands. You gathered him up as softly as you could and sighed when you finally got a good look at him.

He looked more tired than the rest of the Kraits that you've seen, and was probably the biggest Krait you've seen. He didn't look you in the eyes, acting as if he's been returned before, or was about to get adopted but something happened and he didn't. He looked so comfortable in your hands, so much so that you really didn't want to put him down. A bit of warmth made that pressing feeling in your chest go away for a bit. You had to physically force yourself to put the noodle down, and not put him in your purse. You gave him a small kiss on the head before getting up and going back around the shop. Bossy Bitties, Raspberrys, and Edgys didn't like you very much. You could respect that. Cherrys were very sensitive and cuddly, you got to hold the bravest one (the poor baby shook so hard his bones rattled). Even through all the Bitties you saw, only Pogo stood out.

Maybe it was that warm feeling that he gave you. Or maybe because his exhaustion mirrored your own. You bid farewell to Ethyl and the bitties and made your way back home. You knew exactly what you were going to do tomorrow. You were going to try to get to know Pogo better. Hopefully he's like you and needs someone there with him. You walked into your apartment and began making your dinner. Your phone went off as you put the wooden spoon down. You pressed on the green button and put the phone on speaker.

"You're on speaker mode." You chirped and set the phone down.

"Hey (Y/n)!" A sweet voice said back excitedly.

"Hey Atlas, how are you doing?" You go back to making your noodles as Atlas gathered their thoughts.

"I'm doing really good! But I think I made a mistake." You could hear their nervous chuckle and you frowned.

"Did you punch someone again?"

"No."

"Did you insult that one ass at work and get fired?"

Their snicker was a little staticy. "No! He deserved it last time!"

"Then what did you do?" You sighed.

"I impulsively adopted an Edgy and Cherry Bitty."

"You what?!" You let out a surprsied laugh. "How big are they? Are they super cute? What are they names?!"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on! Slow down!" Atlas laughed joyously. "Edgy's name is Kronos, and he's bigger than my entire hand! Cherry's name is CherryBomb and he's about half Kronos's size!"

"That's so cute! I need to see them as soon as possible!" You dumped most of the water out of your noodles and put the rest in a bowl before taking out a ramen flavor packet (ha, you fools, you thought you would eat something healthy for once).

"Don't worry, I'll send you pictures as soon as possible. They're both a bit camera shy." Atlas amended, and then shuffled a bit. "Hey, I need to go. I'm a parent now and I need to make my babies dinner. Talk to you soon. Love you!" They hung up.

You giggle to yourself and scooped up your phone and stuffed into your pocket. Then you grabbed your bowl, and made your way to your couch. Now you really wanted to adopt Pogo. If he wants you to, anyway. Your going to change his name either way. 

~~~

Your day went by so fast, it made you a little dizzy to think about it. You stayed up late last night thinking about what Pogo's new name should be before you go back to Ethyl's. When you finally found it, you passed out. When you woke up, eveything had been a blur. You didn't even realized you been driving to your favorite bitty shop until now, after you shift. You walked in as normally as you could and looked around. Ethyl was no where in sight, and at his desk looked like a mixture of him and Tully. A teen with ram like horns curling around his axolotl fins, and thick fur around his neck. He looked up at you and smiled.

"Welcome to Ethyl's BittyBones and Lamia Care/Adoption!" He called, you waved at him to show you heard him and swiftly made your way to the Krait enclosure. Pogo was in the water, watching a few baby Kraits paddle in the shallow end of their pool. You knelt down, giving them all a soft hello. Pogo seemed to straighten up and got out of the water, drying off as fast as possible. He bolted to you with a big smile and wrapped himself around your arm.

"I thought you wouldn't come back." He said, relief evident in his voice.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't leave you alone here." You gave him a little kiss on his forehead. "How do you like the name Esper?" You hummed. His working eyelight turned into a star and you fell a little more in love with lamia wrapped around your arm.


	3. Mission: Get Esper Settled

Esper latched onto your arm throughout the entire adoption process, thankfully he was on your non-dominate arm, but on there none the less. He only moved when you coaxed him onto you shoulders. He absolutely vibrating with happiness, and clutched onto a lock of hair as if he thought you really would disappear if he let go. Everest, Ethyl's and Tully's son, helped you with the entire process.

"You sure you want to rename him?" Everest asked as you wrote down Esper's former name, and then his new name.

"I made sure to ask him if he liked the name I gave him. He did it." You scratched Esper's head lovingly and he purred loudly, curling a little tighter around your neck.

"Okay, I really though his name before was nice, ya know? Pogo has a good ring to it." Everest shrugged and started putting away files that he needed to keep.

"It does. Just not for a Krait." You pointed out kindly. "Maybe for a Papy or a Baby Blue." Everest hummed with recognition.

"Welp, you're all set, Miss (Y/n). Lamia care items are a few rows down, past the Krait enclosure, and to the left." He pointed down one of the walk ways. You nodded and grabbed your papers, folding them gently and tucking it into your purse.

"Thank you, Everest. Have a good day." You chirped and made your way to the Lamia care aisle. "All right, Esper. You can start picking out what ever you need. I'll grab some necessities. Call me when you're ready to go, okay?" You pulled him off your shoulders and he nodded.

"Of course! Are you picking out washing machines and such?" He was so cute, and he didn't have any clue.

"Yes. You just need to pick what clothes you want and silverware. I'll get everything else." You set your Lamia down and kissed his skull again, he flushed a bright violet and slithered down the rows of Lamia clothes.

You made your way down an aisle that held washers and dryers for bitties as well as ovens, sinks, dishwashers, bathtubs, and little cabinets to hold silverware and glassware. You began to carefully grab boxes and hold them tightly. You also grabbed a set of plates, cups, and bowls for him. You are going to absolutely spoil this bitty. Everything was very expensive, but it allows Esper to get along by himself if you're not around with him.

"(Y/n)!" Esper's voice wormed its way through your rampant thoughts and you hurried back over to him.

"Do you have everything you need?" You glanced at everything in his tiny arms. Probably a weeks worth of short sleeves and longs sleeves as well as a thick jacket. He had a small box of silverware and grinned proudly at you.

"I do!" You struggled lightly as you gently put him on your shoulder. You made your way back to Everest, who was messing around on his phone. He perked up and turned his phone off when you walked back over. You don't know why he gave you such a confused expression. You sat all of Esper's miniature appliances down and Everest began to ring them up.

"Uh," The teen started. "You know you could've just gotten a buggy, right?" He tilted his head at the line of small carts near the 'Bitty Care' sign. "You know, instead of lugging it all over here..."

You blushed brightly, internally seeing yourself making it over here with your arms way too full. "Oh." Was the only thing you could choke out. Esper kindly patted your cheek as you set what he picked out on the counter. At least Everest was kind enough to not laugh, which you appreciated greatly in you flustered state. You payed for everything (even thinking about what you payed made your wallet cry out pitifully), and thanked Everest before leaving the shop with several bags and a very happy Lamia.

"Is it always so cold out here?" Esper gave a small shiver, and tightened his hold on your hair as a particularly strong wind buffeted the two of you.

"Unfortunantely, no." You sighed. Sure you hated the cold, but you hated the heat even more so. "It's getting close to fall, so it's getting a little cooler." Esper made an awed noise and you giggled. You opened your car and set the mini appliances on the back seat floorboards of your car. And set Esper on the dashboard that was slightly warm from the weak sun beating down on it. He hummed approvingly and curled up into a ball, looking up at you with so much admiration, you thought you'd might pop.

"What's your house look like?" Esper finally asked after several comfortable minutes of silence.

"Um," You thought a little to yourself. "It's kinda small. But I don't have any pets. I live alone actually. So it's just gonna be you and me." You grinned at him, and he grinned back. "I also clean when I get bored and when there's nothing to do. So it's pretty clean, if I don't say so myself."

"You...You didn't get me any bedding, so does that mean I get to sleep with you?" His sockets were filled with so much hope, you melted again. You swear this skeleton is going to be the end of you.

"Well I-I just assumed that since Kraits loved to cuddle so much, you wouldn't appreciate sleeping by yourself." You said quickly, nervously.

"That's okay! My, uh, my last adopter didn't know Kraits need a lot physical affection and made me sleep alone." Esper chuckled to himself and scratched the back of his skull, looking just as nervous as you.

"Well, I hope you don't mind that I shift a lot in my sleep." You give him a small smile. You turn into you apartment building' parking lot and park your car. Esper uncurled and stood straighter, swaying slightly as you gathered all of the bags. You held out you arm and he slithered up it and made himself at home on your right shoulder. You got out of your car and closed the door with your foot, before walking to the double doors.

"This place...does allow lamias, right?" Esper asked quietly as you passed through the doors and went straight to the elevator.

"Of course, they classify any non-full sized bitty a pet." You hummed and pressed the button for your floor. "I don't see you guys that way, living with one of you guys is like...living with a very small, very lovable roommate...I guess?" You stepped out of the small elevator and began walking down the hallway to your door.

You couldn't see it, but Esper's eyelight turned into a heart very swiftly, before going round again. "So no one will bother you for having me?" He asked, with a little more strength in his voice.

"I don't see why they would." You shrugged with your left shoulder, as to not knock your bitty off your other shoulder. You walked into your apartment and closed the door, locking it firmly behind you. "Okay, I'm going to set up your stuff, if you wanna help you can-"

"Let me help." You were surprised at how confident his voice was and nodded.

"Okay, just let me unbox everything. You can roam around while I do." You set the bags on the nearby counter of your kitchen and pulled him off your shoulders softly. You set him on the floor and started unboxing his appliances. They were all rather easy to plug up, but your big clumsy human fingers might make it a little harder.

"Are you ready to start plugging stuff in?" Esper asked suddenly, making you jump. 

"Yeah, yeah. I am." You stooped down to pick him up and set him on the counter. You took to reading the instructions, and he did all of the busy work. You two were done within two hours. You had a sneaking feeling that he just let you read the instructions to him so you would feel useful. You ended up making dinner for the both of you and chilled on the couch. Esper curled up sweetly on your stomach as you turned on the TV. You stroked his head while you watched, adoring his very loud purring.

Soon enough it was time to get ready for bed. You nudge him awake and lifted him around your shoulders before bringing him to your room. You changed in the bathroom, while he changed in your room. After doing your normal human hygiene stuff, you walked back into your room and flopped onto your bed. Esper bounced slightly on your pillowed and chuckled. You shuffled into your covers and curled around Esper, who curled next to your throat. You have a strange feeling as you drift to sleep. A feeling that makes you wonder if you'll ever have a normal day after this.


	4. Side Quest: Meet Kronos and CherryBomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to tell any older reader who knows this work that it’s going through a massive editing stage. So some events or small details have been changed from what it was. Hopefully these changes can help the over all story! Enjoy!

The two of you had gotten into a nice pattern. Wake up at 5:00 am, eat breakfast, get ready for work, bring Esper with you to work, lunch break, more work, end shift, go home, eat dinner whenever, then bed by 10:00 pm. Esper was still getting used to your home, from the obnoxiously loud neighbor right above you, to the really loud garbage disposal in the sink. 

One of the few good things about your job was it allowed very clingy bitties to stay with their adopter, which means Esper had rights to stay with you all the time. You didn't mind, you got your time apart from between when you got back from work 'til bed time. But today was Sunday, and you didn't have work on Sundays and Mondays, thank god. Esper was messing around on your phone while you worked on your laptop. It wasn't really work, but more like...updating a story. You sighed and closed the laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of you.

"Hey (Y/n)?" Esper called, forcing you out of the doze you had accidentally put yourself in.

"Hm?" You lifted you head and saw him dragging your phone behind him.

"Someone texted you." He shuffled the phone so it was lying against you. You picked it up and turned it over to see the notification.

Atlas Bby <3: I manged to get Kronos and CherryBomb to get a picture!! (Two Attachments sent by Atlas Bby <3)

You smiled. "It's just a friend sending me a couple of pictures of their two bitties. I'm surprised it took them a week to finally get pictures." You shrugged and opened the attachments.

They were absolutely freaking adorable. Kronos and CherryBomb were both sitting in Atlas's lap, and Kronos was huge. He was probably the biggest bitty you have ever seen. He was bigger than your head and went up about a fourth of your arm. And cuddled ever so sweetly with him was CherryBomb, who was about half his size. Cherry bomb looked alseep, and Kronos glared at the camera as if he thought it would wake up his little angel.

(Y/n): Awww! They're so precious!! I love them!!

Atlas Bby <3: I know right! Kronos still isn't happy w/ me.

(Y/n): As a peace treaty, I will send u a picture my bitty!

Atlas Bby <3: you goT A BITTY

You giggled at your friend's reply and scratched Esper's head. Man, now you really wanted to see that goof ball again. Maybe after this the two of you could get together and hangout. 

"A friend wants a picture of us." You snickered and Esper looked up at you, confused.

"Why?" Was the simple question.

"Because they took a picture of their camera shy bitties. And this would be 'payment' I guess." You shrugged. "Plus, now they're not gonna leave me alone if I don't." Esper nodded, staring at the picture of your friend's bitties.

"We can take the picture, I was just wondering why." Esper fingered the hem of his shirt awkwardly as you leaned over a bit more, so you were curled around him.

"That's okay. Being curious is fine." You mused. You lifted up you phone from you leg and went to your camera app. You leaned down and kissed his head, then took the picture. When you pulled away from him, Esper's entire face was a brilliant violet color. "Alright, let's see the results!" You chirped and pressed on the picture.

It was possibly the cutest picture you have ever taken of someone. You've never even taken this good of a picture of yourself! Esper's face was a soft lavender color and he had scrunched up his shoulders to make himself a little smaller. But his face, oh dear lord, his face was the best part. He had the biggest smile you have ever seen on his face, and his eyes were closed. Even you didn't look horrible in the picture. Your eyes were closed as well with your lips pressed against the top of his head.

"This is my lock screen now." You said after a few minutes of staring at the picture. Esper's blush deepened as he looked up at you, surprised.

"Really? You like it that much?" He seemed so nervous. Your precious noodle.

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I? This is perfect!" You rubbed his back with your thumb gently. He leaned into your touch as you set the picture as your lock screen and sent it to Atlas. The response was instant. Because they called you.

"Oh my god, I need to meet your noodle now. Are you free today?" Atlas said with such speed. You almost didn't even hear what they were saying.

"You know I was just thinking about that when you sent me the picture of Kronos and CherryBomb." You chuckled and sat up, glancing apologetically at Esper as you stopped petting him. He just shrugged and slithered onto your stomach, clutching your shirt to pull him up. You helped him with a soft nudge.

"Do you want to stop by or do you want me to come over to your place?" Atlas asked, there was a bit of shuffling on their side and murmured something softly, too quiet for you to hear.

"Esper and I can go over there. Don't worry. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes." Esper made himself home on your shoulder as you stood.

"That'd be great. Thanks (Y/n)! Also, what type of bitty is he? When did you get him?" Atlas was on a roll, they must be really excited if they're still talking a mile a minute.

"His name's Esper, and he's a Krait lamia. You remember when you called me after you adopted your bitties?"

"Yeah, why?" 

"Because I adopted him the day after. I didn't want to leave him in the shop any longer." You laughed a little as Atlas 'awwed' at you. "Alright, I need to get ready if you want me over at your place on time. See you later."

"Bye! See you soon!" Atlas giggled and you hung up.

"Alright, big guy." You sighed and scratched Esper's chin. "Let's get ready to go."

You had set Esper in you room to get dressed while you took the bathroom. You had to brush your teeth and tame your hair that you had forgotten to brush this morning. You raked your hand through your hair, and wrinkled your nose as you pulled your hand away. Strands clung stubbornly to your fingers. You heard a tiny gasp and turned around to see Esper staring at you with concern.

"Are you okay? Didn't that hurt?" He asked, fearing for your wellbeing.

"It's perfectly normal, Esper. I'm okay." You answered swiftly, shaking the strands of hair away.

"But-But you pulled a clump of your hair right out of your head!" He panicked, slithering over to you quickly.

"I'm okay." You picked him up and nuzzled his head. "If it hurt I would've said something instead of ripping it out. Hair just falls out on its own, okay? It happens to everyone." Esper seemed to calm down and relax a little bit, curling up in a tight ball in you hands. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." He mumbled, sinking into the turtle neck he had put in.

"Alright, good. Because I'm ready too. Off we go!" You stepped out of the bathroom and flicked off the lights with your elbow and lifted Esper to your shoulder. He curled around your neck like an expensive necklace, purring softly. You felt your heart swell, and he started purring louder. You snatched up your purse and jacket before leaving your apartment. You locked the door and made your way to your car.

As you got into your car and set Esper down on his spot on the dashboard, he spoke quietly. You strained to listen to him, but couldn't catch the words.

"You gotta speak up, baby." You replied, buckling up. "I can't hear you."

"Do you- nevermind. It's dumb anyway." He mumbled at little louder, caving in on himself.

"Esper, sweetheart." You turned your head as you backed out of your spot. "Anything you say is not dumb. Go ahead."

"Do you..." He trailed off again, before gaining some strength. "Are you gonna like your friend's bitties more than...me?"

You paused for a split second out of shock, going into drive before speeding off. "Of course not! I would never! I love you too much to just replace you!" You exploded, taking Esper off guard. "They might be cute, but you are way cuter in my opinion!"

"O-Oh," His smiled returned tenfold. "Right. Of course."

You began to think over what he said, realized that he was jealous. "I'm sorry I made you think I'd like them more than you." You finally said, making Esper blush.

"It's okay. Thank you for correcting me." He repremended.

After that, the car was put in a comfortable silence, with the radio softly playing Christmas music (Halloween hasn't even gone by yet!). Finally, you turned into the driveway of a small home and got out of your car, holding out your hand for Esper.

He climbed in and you shut the door behind you. "Atlas rents this place with another person, but they're barely here anyway. Atlas is the only one who regularly lives here in general." You walked up to the door and rang the bell, as well as making sure Esper was held closer to your body.

The door was all but ripped away in a matter of seconds. The door protested loudly as Atlas looked at you with a huge grin.

"(Y/N)!!" They cheered and hugged you tightly, you hugged back with your free arm. "You're early, for once in your life." They chuckled and let go of you.

"Well, you're lucky I already took a shower this morning!" You stuck your tongue out at them as they let you in. Atlas went to say something, but a soft voice interupted them.

"Atlas? Who-Who's that?" CherryBomb spoke up from where the couch was. He was standing on the edge, messing with his long sleeves.

"Cherry B, this is (Y/n). A long time friend of mine." Atlas cooed softly to their bitty. Another bitty climbed his way up the couch to stand by Cherry. Kronos was even bigger in real life. Cherry hid behind him as he puffed out his chest.

"you never said she was bringing a lamia." He grunted, glaring dagger as Esper.

"Yes I did, you just ignored me, you edgy softy." Atlas smarted off back at him.

Esper had his back straight as a board as Kronos stared at him. What ever he did after that seemed to piss off Kronos so much that the Edgy Bitty teleported right by your feet and hissed at Esper with such hate.

"Kronos!" Atlas gasped. "Don't be mean!" They leaned down to pick the large bitty up. You immediately knew that this meet up was either going to work itself out, or end up in a fight between Esper and Kronos.


	5. Boss Encounter: Kronos

Esper did not like this at all. With the very aggressive Edgy merely a foot away from him, and (Y/n)'s happy expression talking to her friend, he knew he was in for an experience. He pointedly ignored Kronos's posturing, and took to analyzing his surroundings. The home looked much smaller from the outside and a lot neater. Inside it looked like a hurricane hit. Dishes were piled up from what he could see in the kitchen, and empty containers littered the counter tops. The living room was at least moderately clean, the blankets were haphazardly across the couch back. Books and note pads were scattered about the cushions as well as pencils. At least the floors looked regularly swept. 

He looked up to see the Cherry bitty staring at him with wonder. The Cherry blushed, and looked away, seemingly embarassed at getting caught staring. Esper managed to catch his eye socket again, and waved welcomingly at him. What he wasn't expecting was Kronos to snarl loudly, making both (Y/n) and her friend jump.

"Kronos! What is your deal today?" His human's friend gasped, holding him close to their face. "If you're going to be rude, you can stay with me the whole time." Kronos cringed, and once again, glared at Esper.

"sorry, atlas." He grumbled, and they tucked him into the crook of their arm.

"It's fine. Just stop that. (Y/n) hasn't even done anything to you." Atlas scolded lightly. "You just met her! She's super sweet!" Esper knew Kronos wasn't growling at (Y/n). The Edgy was growling at him. Esper repressed the urge to hiss violently back at him, but he wanted to get better at him, by being better than him.

Esper pressed himself closer to (Y/n), adoring her warmth and sweet scent. He'd never been happier to be adopted by such a sweet human. It was a dream come true.

"We should try to trade them!" He was finally aware of what Atlas was saying. "Like, you hold Kronos and I hold Esper!"

Esper locked up again as his human agreed and shifted him. He gripped (Y/n)'s hand desparetely and shook his head. He could feel Kronos's blood red eyelights on him. He really didn’t want to be handed off to someone he barely knew.

“It’s okay.” (Y/n) murmured to him ever so gently. “Atlas is a good friend. They would probably cry if they accidentally hurt you.”

“Very true statement!” They chirped, holding Kronos out very gently.

Esper reluctantly let go of (Y/n), and was put in soft cold hands. He tensed and looked up at Atlas, who looked back down at him with wide eyes. It felt strange being held by a human whose never seen a lamia before. He curled up and looked away from them, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. But he wanted to tough it out for (Y/n). Anything for her, and if it meant being stared at like an exotic fish, then so be it.

He looked up to check on how his human was doing with Kronos. Kronos was tucked into (Y/n)‘s arm so gently, one would think he was made out of glass. (Y/n) looked at him kindly, probably thinking about how large Kronos actually was. Don’t get him wrong, Kronos was massive. As well as intimidating, and probably very strong.

Esper was being to feel smaller and smaller by the minute. Atlas was talking and moving again, but he didn't register was was being said and only took into account how uncomfortable this particular human's gait is. He was starting to feel nauseous and they, thankfully, sat down. He glanced up at (Y/n) to see how she was holding up. She was holding one of Kronos' hands in her bigger ones, cooing about how cute the Edgy was. It made Esper's scales burn with jealousy, but he didn't want to seem clingy as Atlas stroked the length of his tail.

Between the lull of conversation and constant attention, Esper realized that CherryBomb had wandered over to Kronos and (Y/n). She had gently held out her hand to the Cherry, who flinched and stepped away. (Y/n) realized as soon as Esper did that the Cherry would fall off the couch if he took one more step. You moved you hands away from Kronos and behind CherryBomb, making him try to back away and fall into her hands with a terrified yelp. Whatever happened next was way too fast for anyone to understand until Esper smelled blood and (Y/n)'s screeched in pain.

Kronos had his teeth buried in her arm. Not wasting any time at all, Esper flung himself at the larger bitty, grappling him out of his human's hold. (Y/n) had set Cherry Bomb down as Atlas ripped her out of her seat to stop the furious bleeding.

As soon as the humans left the room, it was filled with a thick staticy feeling as both Esper and Kronos broke away.

"Why did you bite her?!" Esper snarled, feeling himself puff up.

"she was messin' with cherry! what the fuck did you think i would do?" Kronos snarled back, just as furious.

"She was helping! He was going to fall if she didn't catch him!" Esper crouched, reading himself to spring at Kronos.

"i would'a fuckin' caught him then! i don' need no help from some random ass human!" The Edgy towered over him, trying to make him feel small. It didn't work.

Esper launched himself at Kronos, scratching roughly at his exposed vertebrae. He tried to wrap his tail around the other bitty's legs, but the other was too fast. Kronos grabbed Esper's skull in one giant hand, and slammed it onto the hard cover of a nearby book. Esper wheezed, scrabbling and writhing in the Edgy's hold. Kronos brought him up to his face, still with that punishing grip on Esper's skull.

"listen to me you fuckin' rat," Esper vaguely noticed that Cherry Bomb had left. "i don' like you lamias. never really have. so when you come waltzin' up in my territory, and attack me in my fuckin' home, that really ain't the best way to get on my good side." Kronos tighten his grip on Esper's skull, making him grit his teeth. He brought him close to his face, before throwing him away from himself. Kronos dusted his hands of as Esper slunk away from him. He tried to stop himself, but Esper was shaking. He'd always been the biggest in the shop, how could he have lost so easily?

"You didn't have to be that protective of your brother!" He hissed, holding his pounding skull. "All she was doing was making sure he didn't get hurt."

"brother?" Kronos mimicked, puzzled. Then his grin widened darkly. "buddy, pal," Kronos advanced on Esper until the lamia was pressed against the arm of the couch. "cherrybomb ain't my brother." He chuckled. "ho no, cherry's my mate. An' your little human scared him. so i protected him. since i can't take care of my assigned bro anymore." Esper understood now. The snarling when he had waved at CherryBomb. Kronos's sudden appearance to begin with, it all made sense. They were both protecting what they loved.

"Well I was protecting my human!" Esper shot back angrily. "You didn't have to bite her that hard! You could have done some very major damage to her arm!"

"and?" Kronos backed off, picking at his sharp golden tooth with his claws. "sure she's sweet an' all. but i got atlas an' cherry to keep me company. what is she to me?"

"Well," Esper stood up straighter, swaying slightly. "My human is your human's best friend, right?" He grinned, watching as the bigger bitty froze and his eyelights go out. "What I'm saying is, is that Atlas is going to be pissed."

"aw shit. they told me not to do this shit!" Kronos stomped away from him angrily. "they knew i'd fuck up!" He rubbed his face and sat down heavily.

"That's what you get for attacking random people!" Esper growled, and only backed off when Kronos growled back.

"don't start with me, runt." Kronos paused, a pained expression tore at his 'tough guy' act. Esper caught it, and the Edgy winced like he knew the other would. "don't ask unless you want me to crack your skull open."

"I'm guessing your 'assigned brother' then?" Esper mused, making sure he was far away from Kronos. He just got a weary glare.

"the hell did i just say?" He rumbled back menacingly.

"What happened to him?" Esper whispered after a few moments of tense silence.

"a fuckin' mutt got to him. he and the kid that got us was playin' outside and the neighbor's mutt thought he was a toy."

"You don't want to lose Cherry Bomb like that." Esper realized.

"yep." Kronos looked highly uncomfortable talking about his past. It was strange to think that this was the same bitty that nearly broke his skull in on the book he was sitting on. Esper winced, a ringing coming back to his skull and the pain came back a little more.

"Kronos." A dealthly calm voice called out. Kronos broke out into a nervous sweat.

"yeah?" He called back.

"Come here please." Atlas replied chillingly. Kronos stood, muttering curses galore before shortcutting away.

Esper flopped on the couch exhaustedly. Finally, he could just sleep. Even if it's for a little while.


	6. Boss Defeated! Mission Complete! Level Up!

"you ain't mad?" Kronos looked surprised as you shrugged passively.

"I mean, yeah I'm a little mad, but explaining the situation really helped me at least try to forgive." You winced as you moved your injured arm. Atlas had called their bitty in after they manged to stop your arm from bleeding and disinfect it. They had scolded him harshly and made him apologize and tell you both why he bit you. 

His response was a surprise to both of you, to be honest. Even Atlas hadn't known that Kronos and CherryBomb had their relationship. Kronos wouldn't explain how he met CherryBomb, and neither would Cherry himself explain.

"uh, thanks, then. i guess." Kronos mumbled as Atlas picked him up. He stared at CherryBomb, who was on Atlas's shoulder, before looking at your bandaged arm.

You looked at CherryBomb quizzingly, he didn't look up at you though. "Hey, uh," All three heads swiveled to look at you, making you sink into your jacket nervously. "I can go home with Esper if you want." You mumbled out. "I understand if you need to talk to these guys." You gestured to their bitties. Now it was their turn to be stared at. Atlas frowned worriedly.

"We can hang out a little longer, but I won't stop you if you do want to leave." They patted your shoulder lightly. You nodded and stood, they followed suit.

"I probably need to get home and start on dinner anyway." You smiled at them, they gave you a small smile back. "We can spend more time with each other next week I hope?"

"Yeah, I'm still free until next week." You followed them out of the bathroom and began looking for Esper. You found him passed out on the couch and you smiled warmly, chuckling.

"You little goof." You mused lovingly, and tucked him into your arms. He immediately shoved his head into your arm sleepily, and curled up.

"See you later, (Y/n)." Atlas sighed and gave you a light hug, trying to not jostle both of your bitties.

"See you later." You replied back, almost just as drained. You made your way to you car and got in. You carefully put your sleeping bitty in you hood and turned on the car. The ride home was peacefully quiet, with Esper napping in your hood, and the annoyingly catchy Christmas song playing.

You entered the apartment building's parking lot and parked, then got out of it as gently as possible, still mindful of the lamia in it. You treaded to the building and took the elevator. You walked into your apartment and locked the door with a sigh. You hadn't realized that you only stay at Atlas's place for a few hours. It sure did feel shorter than that. You awkwardly scooped Esper out of your hood before putting him on the heating pad on your couch. You turned it on and whisked yourself away to the kitchen. You started getting out ingredients for chilli mac and began the boring process of boiling macaroni noodles.

You were draining the water out of the noodles when you heard a loud yell from the living room, and a thump, then a rolling sound. You set the pot down, fearing the worst, and bolted towards the livingroom. You stopped right in your tracks when you saw Esper, rolling in the heating pad, with the cord tangled around him, keeping him from unwrapping himself. You let out a quiet snort as you tried to not laugh at your precious bitty. He blushed furiously, and whipped his tail around trying to free himself from his trap. You giggled as you watched him nearly bounce while he flailed.

"Sweetheart, baby," You snrked. "Here let me help you." You walked over to him and kneeled down to help untangle him. Esper went limp in your hands as soon as you got him out of his heated prison, which you turned off and layed back on your couch. "You okay, big guy?" You smirked, and his blush came back.

"Yes." He mumbled, pressing himself closer to your warm hands.

"How did you even do that?" You kissed his head. "That was pretty impressive how you got yourself stuck like that." He let out a weak chuckle.

"I tend to do that when I, uh, have nightmares." He mumbled, and looked away from you and at the ground.

Your smile dropped and your brows furrowed in concern, then in guilt. "Oh." You mumbled. "I'm sorry for laughing at you then." You collasped in on yourself slightly.

"It's fine!" Esper patted your hand almost frantically, not wanting to make you feel bad. "You actually helped me break out of the daze! I'm fine, and you had a good laugh!" Esper smiled at you, it wasn't forced, just a little strained.

"Yeah, I guess I did." You set him on the counter, giving him an awkward lopsided grin. You went back to working on dinner as he watched curiously.

"What are we having for dinner?" He finally asked as you finished putting the noodles back into the pot.

"It's called Chili mac. It's just Mac and Cheese with a can of chili added to it." You answered. "My mom would make it whenever she didn't know what to cook, so we had it every once in a while." You explained.

"That sounds..interesting." Esper scrunched up his nose.

"It tastes better than it sounds. At least give it a try." You chuckled at him, guilt forgotten. You finished the chili mac and dished you and Esper up. You sat at the counter and got out a fork for the two of you. You speared a few noodle and munched on it happily. Esper poked at his a little more before taking a bite. He perked up slightly and ate a little more. "See I told you you would like it." You shook your head and began eating your dinner again. After you finished with your dinner, you put your left overs away and began cleaning up the kitchen, talking to Esper.

"You mean you couldn't have a bitty? At all?" Esper asked, almost sad.

"No." You sighed. "My mom hates bitties for some reason. She gets mad when ever I would try to feed the strays."

"But why? Bitties were specifically made for humans." Esper had a confused look.

"I guess she just looks at them like mice or something, with all of the infestations going on as of late." You just shrugged.

"Did you have any friends with bitties?"

"Yes, I did. But none of them really liked me. I've been bitten by more Undyne type bitties then I care to admit." You chuckled weakly to yourself.

"But you still liked bitties anyway?"

"Of course I did. Bitties were too sweet for me to not like. I've held a bunch of Alphys and Toriel bitties and they were super nice."

Esper looked down and nodded to himself. You went to put up a glass as you laughed along with him, but your foot caught the rug in front of the sink, and you felt yourself falling. You yelped and grabbing onto the nearest thing to stop or at least slow your fall. You grabbed the handle to your microwave and it was ripped from it's spot. You fell heavily, groaning quietly, expecting to be hit by your microwave, but nothing happened. You didn't even feel the glass that you should have crushed. You sat upright to see both objects floating in the air wobbily. Not wasting any time, you snatched the glass out of the air and put it on the counter beside you and grabbed the microwave, and nodded at Esper. You set it down and looked at your bitty, who was sweating lightly.

"That was amazing!" You cheered, catching the lamia off guard. "I would have been in so much pain right now, you have no idea." You scooped Esper up and snuggled him to your chest happily. He soaked up the attention like a sponge, and purred happily. You wrapped him around your neck and decided to view the damage of your microwave.

In your panic, you had nearly ripped the door off its hinges, so now the door wouldn't close. You had also tore the cord out of the machine itself.

"Wow." Esper remarked. "Should I have just let it drop? Since it's already soo...broken now?"

"You saved me from some near broken bones Esper. I'm actually quite happy you decided to not let me die today." You sighed. "I needed a new one anyway. We can go to the store tomorrow, it's my shopping day to begin with." You picked up the microwave and put it by your front door to take out to the trash later.

"So what now? Should I comically trip again and add onto my never ending list of injuries?" You leaned forward, feinting a fall. Esper yelped and held onto your hair, laughing joyfully. He was fully relaxed, wrapped around your neck comfortably. You smiled. He was at home here. He was happy here, with you. That warm melting feeling made your chest warm, and Esper started purring again. Yep, he was definitely going to be the end of you.


	7. Achievement Unlocked: Adopted Tale Bitties

You slowly cracked your eyes open, internally thankful for the blackout curtains you parents had sent to you for your birthday. You felt so at peace, so calm as you lie in bed. You felt Esper breathe in deeply from beside your neck, you melted once more for your lamia. He was too perfect, and even better yet, he never complained about the attention he received. In fact, he embraced it and would sometimes beg for more.

You stroked his tail softly, enjoying the smooth soft texture of his scales. He hummed, burrowing closer to your neck, and sighed contently. You relaxed against your warm fluffy covers, nuzzling Esper. You thought about when you got Esper (which was a week ago, surprisingly), and thought back to how sad he looked when you first met. Compared to how happy and content he is now.

You scrunched up your face, realizing that you had to go shopping for food. Aaand a new microwave. You grumbled to yourself, extracting yourself from your very inviting bed and snatched some nicer clothes from your dresser before retreating to your connected bathroom. The hot shower felt nice, replacing the warmth you lost getting out of your sheets. You scrubbed yourself clean, and winced when the water hit your bandages. You unwrapped it and tossed the dirty bandages towards the trashcan near the toilet. You shrugged and promised yourself you would throw it away later.

You finished cleaning up and hopped out, grabbing your overly large and fluffy towel and wrapping it around you. You dried yourself off and got dressed. Then you started blow drying your hair and brushing your teeth. You can multitask. Plus, you didn't want Esper to wake up alone. Once you finished, you walked out and realized that Esper had changed from his soft night shirt to a thick turtleneck, and was laying in your spot. Smiling warmly, you gently scooped him up and wrapped him around your neck.

"Good morning." He mumbled, rubbing the top of his head sleepily on the bottom of your chin.

"Morning." You mused back just as tired, and walked into the kitchen. You got out an apple and cut a little part big enough for Esper's breakfast, and munched on the apple. You gave Esper his piece and the two of you ate in silence until you finished. You picked up your destroyed microwave and walked out of your apartment. You made your way to the nearby dumpsters, thought better of it and dropped the broken appliance off at a neighbor's apartment door. They liked to tinker with broken things, so instead of them dumpster diving like they usually would, you just left it out for them to take. Or someone in general.

You returned to your apartment and put on some sneakers, grabbed your purse, keys, grocery list, and your phone. You petted Esper's head to make sure he was still doing well, he just pressed his face into your palm. You nodded and left your apartment, making sure to lock it and made your way to your beloved car. Both of the stores were in walking distance, but like hell you were going to walk that much with many, many pounds of food and other necessities. You got into your car, and left the parking lot, thankful not a lot of cars were in it. You made it to the store swiftly, and began your shopping. 

"Humans are so weird." Esper chuckled as you browsed through all the pickle types. "They are all the same thing, just with minor changes."

You gasped, offended, and pressed a hand to your heart. "Then you've never had a true good dill pickle." You wrinkled your nose at the sweet pickles. "I don't have anything against all the other pickles, it's just I prefer a specific type." This only seemed to amuse Esper even more.

You just shrugged lopsidedly, and continued. You have your eggs, noodles, razors, pickles, and candy stash all taken care of. Now all you need is a microwave, bread, and toilet paper. You heaved a sigh and began to make your way to the appliance section of Target. You missed your usual store, but this would have to do for now. You looked at the microwave types, asking Esper for his opinion every once in a while.

"What do you think about this one?" You asked, touching a box.

"It's a good enough price. That one actually resembles your old one righ-ghhkk!!" Esper made a panicked sound and clutched your hair, yanking your head back suddenly. You let out a screech of surprise and cupped Esper, so you could intercept whatever was pulling on you lamia. What ever was holding him let go and you whipped around, eyes burning with fury. They better not have hurt Esper or you would- it was a kid, maybe up to you lower ribcage. You looked around, trying to find another adult in your row. It was only you.

"Why did you pull on my bitty?" You asked in the sweetest voice you could muster, hiding a shivering Esper in your hair.

"I want it." The kid demanded in a nasally voice. "My bitties ran away because they're mean. So I want that one." He pointed to you. "You're gonna give me it."

"Um, no." You snorted slightly, understanding why his bitties ran away from him. "He is my bitty. You can't have him." You turned to leave, and the kid grabbed your shirt fiercely.

"Give it to me!" The kid demanded louder. "It's mine." He screeched that time.

You honestly didn't want to deal with somebody's snot nosed kid. So you ignored him, and then hell broke loose. This child screamed bloody murder, and you grabbed the microwave you had been interupted from talking to Esper about, put it in your cart, and booked it away from the scene.

"Are you okay?" You whispered to Esper. He was still shaking, but you felt him nod ever so slightly.

"He-He didn't hurt me. Just s-surprised me is all." The poor baby's teeth chattered.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." You mumbled and petted him softly. He just chuckled.

"I have been in a bitty shop for two years," He mused, not shaking as much anymore. "That was nothing compared to what some human children have done to me." Your heart broke at his words.

"That's awful!" You gasped, and took him off your shoulder to press him into your chest. "You're definitely getting a treat when we go home today. You deserve one." He blushed, and shrugged, nestling into the softness of your breasts. You didn't blink at that, if had been literally any other bitty doing that, you would have been more embarrassed. But Kraits adored soft things and nested in soft things, so you were pleased that he was comfortable with you.

You set him back on your shoulder and finished your shopping in record speed, not wanting to get caught by the kid and their parent if they so choose to pop up. You were going to an empty cash register line with a bored looking employee at it, but was blocked off by two police officers. You paled slightly, a cold sweat breaking out on your forehead and neck, making your palms clammy.

"May I help you officer?" You squeaked.

"We were told that you stole a bitty from some kid." One of the officers, a deep sapphire colored fish monster, grunted. She looked irritated, the red fins on the side of her head flared every once in a while. Her partner was a nervous looking human, who glanced around every so often. You turtled slightly into your jacket.

"I didn't stea-" You began.

"SHE STOLE MY BITTY!" The same kid from before bellowed from behind the two officers. They both winced as the kid's mother came waddling over like she owned the store.

"Give my son that bitty. He said he found it first and you took it away from him." She snarled, pointing at you, red faced. "And if you don't, I'll take it from you myself!" This woman barely reached your chin, and her short arms could probably only grab the shoulder of your shirt at worst.

"Um, excuse me." You spoke up, holding up your hands in a pacifying gesture. "This is my bitty that I adopted. You can't have him. You don't even know what his name is!" You took a tiny step back, trying to get this lady's too strong perfume out of your nose.

"Yes he does." The woman snapped.

"No he doesn't." Esper spoke up from behind the curtain of your hair concealing him.

"Is this your owner?" The fish officer asked Esper, and pointed at you.

"Yes she is. Could we check out now?" Esper confirmed, and rubbed a small hand against your neck, trying to get you to relax.

"Welp," The fish officer cracked her knuckles and nodded. "The squirt has spoken. You two can go." She jerked her head to the register that was open. "As for you two," She turned to the crying kid and his mother. Her partner grinned from behind his hand as the kid wailed even louder. "We're gonna talk." 

After that, you sped over to the cash register open and started putting your items on the conveyor belt. Your hands shook slightly as you placed your items down.

"Are you okay?" It was Esper's turn to see if you were okay.

"Yeah." You mumbled, tilting your head into his. "Just a little spooked is all." You gave him a weak smile. He returned it. Your stuff was quickly bagged and placed in your cart. You paid and thanked the worker before leaving. You were just about to cross over to where your car was until Esper tugged gently at a lock of your hair.

"That box has bitties in it." He said, slightly panicked and pointed to a horribly beat up box. Your throat tightened and you jogged over to the box with your cart. There was writing on the box, but it was too water damaged to read. But inside were two seemingly Tale bitties. You gasped and bent down to check on them. They were absolutely filthy, and there clothes were just rags.

"They are coming home with us whether or not you realize it." Esper mused as you picked them up very, very gently.

"I know. But first we have to get them to Ethyl's in order to know if they're alright." You hurried to your car and set the two Tale Bitties in the passenger aide seat and started putting groceries in your trunk, then pushed the cart away, hopped into your car and immediately started off towards Ethyl.

"What are you going to name them?" Esper mumbled next to your ear. You wracked your mind quickly as you drove.

"I don't know. Maybe something if they don't already have names." You said, almost a little too fast.

"They're going to have to have a name for the to be signed in." Esper said softly, but it just added to your ever growing stress.

"Uh, um, what about BellPepper for the Papy, since they're always so sweet. And, uh, I guess Turtle for the Sansy because they're...cute?" You relaxed all of the sudden for some reason.

Yeah, BellPepper and Turtle. You felt like this is when life really gets turned around, but you have these guys to help. Your bitties. Your friends. Your family.


	8. Mission: Get to Know BellPepper and Turtle

"This is the second time this month you've come here after a shopping trip with two Tale Bitties clinging to you." Ethyl snickered, and gently took the bitties that had hooked themselves into your jacket. You shrugged helplessly, trying to smile, but your stomach churned fearfully at the very still Tale bitties in his hold.

"What can I say? I'm a bitty magnet." You joked weakly, shakily petting Esper's head softly as Ethyl gently gave the two limp bitties a checkup.

"I'm going to take them into the back room and give them a proper checkup. Can you fill these out for them while I do so?" He slid you two sheets of paper and walked to the backroom. You grabbed a nearby pen and started writing down what you knew and what conditions you found the two Tale bitties in.

"You seem scared." Esper murmured, noticing your slight shake. You gently pulled him off your shoulder and placed him beside the paper you were writing on.

"They didn't wake up the entire ride here, they only moved when I picked them up to bring them in here." You sighed, the stress making you honestly want to cry.

"They'll be fine." He patted your hand reassuringly. "Us bitties are much sturdier than you humans give us credit for." He rubbed the top of your hand.

"Yeah." You glanced down at him greatfully. "Yeah, thanks Esper." You mumbled and pressed a small kiss onto his forehead. 

You finished the paperwork (which turned out to be information papers and adoption papers) before Ethyl came back out with an awake BellPepper and Turtle. You scrunched in on yourself as they looked at you, confusion and hope bright on their faces.

"Hey, (Y/n)." Ethyl smiled softly at you. "Meet Sansy and Papy. They told me they don't have names, so I was wondering if you would like to name them. If they want." He looked down at the two awkward bitties and softly set them on the table.

"i told my bro we'd be boned." The Sansy chuckled, looking up at you, seemingly comfortable in his new clean clothes and freshly washed bones. "i guess it was a fibula after you took us in." He looked away. "thanks for that kid."

"YES!" The Papy said happily, bouncing from where his brother stood. "I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE AN ACTUAL NAME! AND IT'D BE EVEN BETTER FOR OUR HEROINE TO NAME US." You flushed at his words stuttering slightly. Ethyl took your finished paper work and smiled.

"She's already named the two of you." He mused, and the Tale bitties looked at him with surprise. "She put down 'BellPepper' for you Papy, and 'Turtle' for you, Sansy."

"how sweet of you kid. i won't be slow to thank you. anything you want to turtell us?" Turtle grinned cheekily as BellPepper groaned and rubbed his face.

"U-Uh, no?" You stuttered slightly. You brightened and wanted to slap yourself. "A-Actually, my name is (Y/n). And this is Esper," Your lamia waved at them. "If you guys wa-want to stay with me, he's going to be here with with me a lot."

"STAY WITH YOU?" Papper gasped softly. "YOU WANT TO ADOPT US? WOWIE! THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU REALLY ARE OUR HEROINE!" You tried to deny it, but even Turtle stopped punning as he looked up at you with so much hope.

"I would like to adopt you two, yes!" You blurted finally. "But only if you want me to adopt you. If not, I can just, ya know, go?" You shrugged, looking at your hands, realizing how strange human hands are.

"you want to adopt us?" Turtle seemed suspicous and serious, but Pepper seemed estatic.

"THAT'S AMAZING!" Pepper hugged your hand, smiling adorably. Turtle regarded you warily.

"i'm not trying to seem slow or nothin'." He punned, but his eyelights were sharp. “but what game are you playin’? not every human is this sweet.” He looked kind of angry, like he thought you were tricking him.

”I really do want to adopt you!” You tried to assure him, you felt sweat break out on your forehead at his judging gaze. “If I wanted nothing to do with you, I p-probably would have left you in that box.” You cringed, not wanting to sound like you deserved to adopt them. “B-But you don’t have to stay with me...I don’t mind if you want someone else to adopt you.” A tiny empty feeling in your chest really made you want to implode. You haven’t felt that ever since you adopted Esper.

Turtle looked torn, then turned to whisper to BellPepper, who whispered back with surprising quietness. They both took to whispering, glancing at your chest every once in a while (Your soul, your subconsciousness realized), before quieting. Turtle looked less tense now, and his eyelights were much larger than before. BellPepper was practically vibrating in his spot.

”WE HAVE DECIDED TO STAY WITH YOU, KIND HUMAN!” He bellowed, and took your pointer finger and shook it firmly. You let out a relieved giggle and relaxed, shaking your finger.

”It’s nice to meet you two as well.” You pulled your hand back and stood. “Since you two want to stay with me, we need to get you clothes and beds. And maybe some more forks and plates and stuffs.” You held out you hands for your bitties (you really wanted to squeal every time you thought that). Esper immediately made his way to your shoulder and made himself comfortable. Pepper stood on your left hand, while Turtle sat on your right one.

”Thank’s again, Ethyl, I’d probably be a mess without these bitties.” You chuckled, and he laughed with you.

”My pleasure, it makes me happy to see people love bitties just as much as I do.” He nodded towards you. 

You made your way to the bitty care area (making sure to grab a cart this time), and began to roam. You set down Pepper and Turtle at the Tale clothing isle.

”Alright you two,” You started. “Pick out any clothes you think you might need, okay? Call me when you’re done so we can go checkout. I’ll be looking for beds and other stuff while you do.” They nodded, one more excited than the other.

”I’ll go with them.” Esper spoke up suddenly, making you jump a little.

”Of course.” You gently took him off your shoulders and put him next to the others.

They waved you off and you went bed shopping. You saw a race car bed that Papys seemed to adore, and gently set it in your cart. You grabbed a simple mattress for Turtle, mainly because Sansys don’t like anything too fancy, or else they won’t sleep on it. You were looking at plastic and paper plates and bowls for the boys when you heard Esper finally calling you over. You turned around and jogged back to them, snatching some plastic plates and bowls on your way over. You turned a corner and saw them all waiting for you. Their arms were filled with clothes, even Esper's. You chuckled, and took it all from them, and placed it in the cart. You gently picked them all up again and walked back over to Ethyl, much like when you had adopted Esper and had gotten his stuff.

"You know you could have gotten a basket instead of a big buggy, right?" Ethyl snickered. "Buggys are for people who adopt five or more bitties." You froze and flushed. Of course there were baskets. You turned to look at the carts, and sure enough, right before them, there's the baskets.

"R-Right." You mumbled, wanting to die even more than when you had messed up in front of Everest.

"Don't worry. It's fine." Ethyl grinned at you and began to ring up your stuff as you put it on the counter. The amount was a little less than your groceries, but you still winced.You were spending way too much money in less than two weeks. You paid and bid him farewell as you left.

"WHAT'S OUR NEW HOME GOING TO LOOK LIKE?" BellPepper asked excitedly, as you set your three bitties on the dashboard.

"It's cozy." You replied, gently setting their belingings on the passenger side seat. "And it's clean, so you don't have to worry about that."

BellPepper looked even happier now. "WOWIE! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF US GETTING SUCH A NICE AND CLEAN HUMAN!?" He turned to Turtle who shrugged.

"probably a lotmia." He snickered as Pepper glared at him.

"That Wasn't Even Creative." The Papy deadpanned, sighing as he saw Esper giggle behind his hand.

You all talked as you drove back home, once you parked you gathered up everyone and your bag (as much as you could carry anyway, thankfully Esper used some of his magic to help you carry your daunting load.) Once you managed to some how open your door without falling, and set everything down, you slumped into a stool next to the counter.

"that was some pretty heavy lifting." Turtle said, standing on the counter next to your elbow. "you need some rest?" He asked a little more seriously. You frowned. He didn't seem like a normal Sansy, his puns lacked any motivation, and he was much more serious than other Sansys you've met and seen.

"Yeah, just real quick. Then I'll put everything away." You streched and stood, Esper and BellPepper already off of your person.

"NONSENSE!" BellPepper said suddenly. "WE WILL PUT EVERYTHING AWAY AS YOU REST! ESPER HERE WILL HELP US PUT YOUR GROCERIES BACK, RIGHT?"

"Yes." Esper said without hesitation, which made your eye brows shoot up."Could you set up BellPepper and Turtle's beds?" He looked so nervous.

"Yes, I'll do that. Just don't break anything. Okay?" They all nodded and you grabbed the Bitty bags and walked to your room. Once you're done with this, you can make dinner for you and your babies. Then it's back to your daily work grind, unfortunately. You sighed, you really didn't want to be woken up by your very rude alarm clock. You glared at the offending clock as you set up the Tale bitty's beds on your nightstand right next to you. Dinner first, then you'll think about work.


	9. Side Quest: A New Challenger Approaches

Esper didn't want (Y/n) to leave him home with his new housemates. They weren't terrible or anything, he just really wanted to stay with his human. He felt proud that he managed to read her well enough that he noticed that she was going to want to keep them. He was awake, laying pressed up against her neck as his thoughts ran uncontrolled. Would she like BellPepper and Turtle more than him? Would they be more important to her? Will she take them to work with her instead of him? He shivered at that thought, an empty feeling filling his SOUL. He curled up tighter around the base of (Y/n) neck, trying to have as much of her warm skin touching his scales.

Turtle and Pepper were already asleep, snoring softly in their own beds. Esper wrinkled his nasal cavaity at them before pressing his face into your hair. Who wouldn't want to sleep with a human so soft and gentle such as (Y/n)? She was even mindful of Esper in her sleep! She barely moved since the first night he stayed in her bed, probably because she was too scared of squishing him to actually get some good sleep. Esper closed his eye sockets, at least trying to sleep, but insecurities and doubts made him want to panic about his human's love for him.

(Y/n) made a quiet grumbling sound and shifted so she had her hand over the middle of his tail. She snuggled into her pillow, fingers twitching, as if she were petting him. She let out a happy sigh and relaxed, this made Esper breakout into an uncontrollable purr. She would always tense, then relax over and over in her sleep. He wondered if she had ever allowed herself to truly relax on her days off. He ever so slowly drifted off to sleep, making his soul go into sync with (Y/n)'s soft, steady beats. He pressed himself closer to his human as sleep finally claimed him.

Esper was very rudely interrupted in his dream by the obnoxious alarm clock on (Y/n)'s dresser. It blared hatefully back at him as (Y/n) removed herself from the bed to turn off the offending piece of technology. After that, she went into her connected bathroom with her work clothes and closed the door. Esper rolled into the spot she had once been, trying to soak up what little warmth she'd left. He quickly fell into a lull until he felt nervous hands shake him away.

"Esper!" A very loudly whispered voice made Esper highly irritated. He was trying to sleep, why can't he sleep today? "Esper! Wake Up! Why Is The Human Awake So Early?" Esper cracked a socket open to look at BellPepper tiredly.

"She's getting ready for work. Go back to sleep, it's five in the morning." Esper grumbled, taking the way too big blanket and hauling them onto himself, he was starting to feel a little too cold.

"Why Does She Have To Wake Up This Early For Work??" Pepper asked, not taking heed to Esper's demand. "She Needs Rest! I Bet She'll Not Go If We Tell Her Not To!" Esper highly doubted it, but Pepper looked so confident, he was too exhausted to break the Papy's heart.

Esper ignored BellPepper, and went back to trying to sleep. He only started to finally rouse when (Y/n) started getting out of the shower. It'd take her a little longer to dry her hair and put her makeup on, as well as her uniform. So he stretched and lazily slithered over to where his dresser was. At the moment, he had to share it with the Tale Bitties, not that he minded. He pulled out his softest turtle neck and shuffled off his night shirt, and slipped into the shirt.

"what 'cha doin' there, esp?" Turtle rolled on his bed, looking more exhausted than yesterday, as if he didn't sleep at all last night.

"Getting ready for the day." Esper mumbled back, even though it was obvious what he was doing.

"(Y/N)!" BellPepper's true volume caught everyone off guard. (Y/n) yelped, and Turtle fell off his bed in surprise.

"I didn't think you'd be awake yet, BellPepper." You murmured softly, and gently scooped him up.

"OF COURSE I'D BE AWAKE! WHY WOULDN'T I BE?" He posed dramatically, making (Y/n) and Turtle chuckle. "BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY!" He stared into (Y/n)'s eyes with the most masterful puppy dog eyes Esper has ever seen. Even the Mutts couldn't live up to what Pepper just pulled off. "STAY HOME WITH US! WE DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE ALONE WHILE YOU ARE GONE!" (Y/n) melted slightly, but shook her head sadly.

"Sorry, Pep." You petted his skull lovingly, which made Esper burn with slight jealousy. "But I need to go to work. And then to the store to get some more stuff for you and Turtle, so I don't forget." BellPepper deflated and (Y/n) set him on her shoulder. "But I will make you three breakfast and lunch." Esper froze.

"Us 'three'?" He parroted, confused. His doubts from last night came back ten-fold. (Y/n) really did like Turtle and BellPepper more than him, he should have known.

"Yes," (Y/n) looked so sad. "There's a limit of bitties that I can bring. Only two bitties within the ranges of Kraits, Cherrys, and Sunstones." She scooped Esper up and allowed Turtle to step on her hand. "I want you to go with me, but then these two will be left alone in a home they have never seen until yesterday. I would like you to at least get them comfortable while I'm gone." She kissed Esper's head, but he still felt a little betrayed. "You can do that right?"

"Of course I can." Esper mumbled. He wanted (Y/n) to be proud of him, not disappointed that he throws a fit about not being able to go to work with her.

"That's my big guy." (Y/n) cooed softly, hugging him close as she walked to the kitchen. Esper sat up taller at the praise. He could go a day or two getting the new bitties comfortable if he kept getting affection like this.

"Do I get extra cuddle time?" He asked as she set the three of them down.

"Yes, especially if you do this." She started getting out the ingredients for breakfast. "Your being a really big help. Thank you, Esper." She smiled at him and began to cook. "And you two," She directed her attention to Pepper and Turtle. "Don't be mean to Esper. All he'll want to do today is helping you get used to your new home. I want you three to at least tolerate eachother since you all live in the same house."

"i'm too bone tired to be starting anything. this sack of bones isn't anything but jelly." Turtle closed one eye socket as (Y/n) laughed, holding a jar of strawberry jelly.

"Good. I don't need any fights when I get home." She set three small plates of buttered toast with a side of jelly for them. Esper remembered with a smile how much she had given him when she first got him. (Y/n) could fully realize that most of his energy and wellbeing was based on how much love and affection she gave him. She rubbed each of their heads as they tucked in and ate her own breakfast before working on lunches. She made sandwiches for them and put them ever so gently in the miniature fridge next to her normal sized toaster. Then made her own lunch.

"Alright. I'll be back before dinner time. If you want to talk to me, Esper, you have the bitty phone." (Y/n) explained . Esper nodded, remembering an old sliding phone that she had given him after the Kronos incident. "I'll be back with some dressers and hampers for the two of you." She looked at the Tale bitties, they nodded. "Alright," She petted Turtle's and Pepper's head, Turtle pressed his cheek against her hand. Esper saw (Y/n) beam at that and BellPepper tensed. She gave Esper a tiny kiss on the head. "I'll be back!" She chirped and left the apartment, locking the door behind her.

The aura of the apartment immediately went chilly and staticy as soon as the door clicked locked, and (Y/n)'s steps faded away. Esper could taste the thick magic in the air. He turned to see Turtle and Pepper glaring at...each other? Highly confused, and slightly relieved that those glares weren't aimed at him, he slithered between the two.

"Remember what (Y/n) said." He warned. "No fighting."

"I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT." BellPepper said, anger apparent in his voice. "BUT YOU, TURTLE, HAVE NO RIGHT TO MARK (Y/N) LIKE THAT! SHE HAS BEEN NICE, YES, BUT WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW HER!" Turtle bristled, but was cut off by Esper.

"You marked my human?" Esper rose, his tail making him seem taller than he actually was.

"you haven't marked her yet." The Sansy grumbled. "it'll keep other bitties away so she doesn't try to adopt any more of us while she's gone."

"She'll adopt who ever she wants to, because that will make her happy." Esper snarled. The warm fuzzy feeling (Y/n) put over him evaporated as if he'd seen Kronos bite her again. "That's why I didn't mark her. Because she doesn't need to be monitored while doing something she feels is right. Like adopting you and BellPepper."

"HONESTLY BROTHER!" Pepper admonished. "YOU KNOW BETTER! ESPECIALLY AFTER THAT TIME A SOFTY BITTY BIT OUR LAST HUMAN BECAUSE OF HOW AGGRESSIVELY YOU SCENT MARKED HER!" Turtle sank into his jacket, obviously not liking the negative attention.

"If my human gets so much as scratched because of your hostile scent, I'm not going to hesitate." Esper growled, Turtle growled back a little, but said nothing else. He knew this was Esper's territory. He had no rule or say here.

"WHAT SHOULD WE DO NOW, THOUGH?" Pepper finally asked, after being done with looking at his brother with tired annoyance.

"Nothing." Esper shrugged rather aggressively, still very irritated that Turtle thought it was necessary to mark (Y/n) without her consent. "I don't usually stay here while (Y/n) is at work.

"OH!" Pepper perked up greatly. "WE CAN PLAY HIDE AND SEEK!"

...That wasn't a bad idea, actually.

So that's what Esper found himself doing so he doesn't attack Turtle too aggressively. Kraits were not only very affectionate with their adopters, but they were also highly protective out of sheer instinct.

The three of them played until lunch, then they ate their sandwiches, afterwards just mostly lazed around the apartment. Esper had turned on the tv and started playing something on (Y/n)'s recently watched on Netflix. It was a TV show on grimms or something, he didn't really care. He dozed off after the second or third episode, and lost track of time there. He was only awoken when the front door slams open. Esper and Turtle jump up from the couch as BellPepper yelps from where he was working on a crossword puzzle. (Y/n) let out a little squeal as she locked the door behind her and set a bag on the counter of the kitchen.

Turtle shortcutted away while Esper slid off the couch and slithered over to her. She smelled strongly of another different human male, and it made Esper slightly more irritated, again.

"WHAT'S WRONG (Y/N)?" BellPepper asked, already on the counter beside Turtle.

"I just got asked out on a date!" She grinned broadly, a slight blush lit up her cheeks.

Esper's eyelights went out and he turned to see that Turtle had mimicked him and Pepper had froze. They all thought the same thing. A newer, bigger, stronger male might take their cute little human away from them.


	10. Boss Encounter: Jason Wilton

"A DATE?" BellPepper was the first and fastest to recover. "ARE WE GOING TO MEET THEM? WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? HOW DO YOU KNOW THEM?" Esper slowly shook the shook of his surprise, looking up at your happy expression. You felt so elated! You swiftly tugged out Turtle's and BellPepper's dressers and a few new accesories.

"Yes. His name is Jason, and he's coming over tomorrow night to pick me up. He's super sweet, and has two of his own bitties! He's from work, you remember him, right Esper?" You turned to look at your lamia, who nodded slowly. You felt like squealing again. You always felt like people were avoiding you for some unexplained reason, it always made you feel...sad. Well, a little stronger than that, but a little weaker than depressed.

Turtle looked slightly pained when you turned your back to him, so you didn't catch the odd change of expression.

"well, you better hope he dresses to impress, right?" The Sansy chuckled along with you.

"Definitely." You muse, and perk up. "Oh! Before I forget, I got you all a treat for staying home all day long!" You pulled out three small objects from the second bag you held. "This is for you BellPepper," You handed him a small pin that looked like a miniture pepper. "These are not only treats," You smiled at your bitties. "But little trinkets that will let me know that you guys are with me if we ever stop by Ethyl's again, and stay a little while." You picked Esper up softly once you realized he was still tugging slightly at your pants leg. You set him on the counter next to Turtle and gently gave him a small necklace that had a star pendant on it, and...a new pair of glasses. You smiled as Esper gasped and put on the glasses as soon as possible and slipped on his necklace as well.

"Thank you..." He breathed, admiring the star hanging from the chain.

"YES!" BellPepper cheered, the pin shining proudly on his scarf. "THIS IS SO VERY THOUGHTFUL OF YOU!"

"It's my pleasure getting this stuff for you." You cooed and gave Turtle a very soft jacket that has turtle shell print on the back. The eyelights in his sockets grew so much that they nearly filled his sockets.

"i, uh, can't turtell you how much this means to us." He said, his voice watery. "you really are the light of our life kiddo." You blushed slightly. "i doubt you can 'see' how much you 'pepper' us with affection." You laughed, feeling pleased as Pepper and Esper chuckled along with you.

"Alright, I'll put this stuff by your beds and then we can have some dinner!" You brandished some barbeque takeout happily, patting the bags laying on the counter before grabbing the Tale Bitty's dressers and setting them by its respective bed. Then practically flounced out, jogging to you bitties. It felt like you could run miles.

"WHAT'S BAR-BE-QUE?" Pepper asked as you dished everyone up.

"It's slow cooked pork." You chirped. "The place I went to isn't better than the stuff in the south."

"DID YOU GROW UP THERE?" Pepper asked as you gave Turtle and Esper their plates.

"No, I would only go there to visit some family." You replied. "We would always have it when we met up. I kind of miss it. If we ever visit my parents we can stop by a place and have some." You began to dish up your own sandwich.

"YOUR PARENTS LIVE DOWN THERE?" BellPepper asked curiously.

"Yeah. Had to move there for my dad's work. But it's not that bad." You shrugged.

You all ate in moderate silence, Esper asked how your day went, other than Jason asking you out (You don't know why he did it today of all days. Some brat threw a perfectly good bottle of root beer at you, and it exploded all over you and the floor.). You also noted that they all seemed to love your childhood food, even though Turtle replaced the barbeque sauce with ketchup. You finished and excused yourself to go get changed into pyjamas and brush your teeth and what not.

So slowly you felt your energy dwindle into nothing as you brushed your teeth. It seemed like your adrenaline from work seemed to finally wear off and leave you an exhausted ghost looking thing. You scrunched up your face and hopped in the shower, not really wanting to get one tomorrow morning. You showered in record time and dried yourself off, and put on your most comfortable pair of pjs, brushed your hair and left to go to the living room. You saw that your bitties were already ready for bed, and on the couch with the TV paused, like they were waiting for you.

"Aw, guys." You smiled at them tiredly, they smiled back. "You didn't have to do that." They cleared a spot they wanted to to sit, and you flopped down heavily.

"NONSENSE!" BellPepper cleared his throat as he made himself comfortable in the crook of your arm. "WE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT TO WATCH THIS WITH US. SO WE WAITED FOR YOU."

"Pepper is right." Esper curled softly from around your neck. "Even though you've possibly seen this entire thing, we still want you to watch it with us." He chose a show that you hadn't watched since you were in high school.

You all were barely three episodes in when you realized all your boys were asleep. You let out a small chuckled and gathered them up, trying to not wake them. You made your way to your room and a familiar feeling hit you. Not your usual warm melty feeling, but a hesitant 'something bad is going to happen' feeling. You scrunched up your face as you put Pepper and Turtle in their beds, and Esper on your pillow. You never really liked this feeling, it made you uncomfortable, and anxious. So you tried to push it away as you laid down to go to sleep.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

You cracked on eye open, seeing your room when you lived with your parents for a split second before your room became less cloudy in your vision. You groaned, wondering why you were awake at such an ungodly hour.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Oh, that's why. Freaking work, because you have bills to pay. You get out of your bed with too much speed for your tired brain to comprehend and turned off your very annoying alarm clock. You never got a new one because this one always managed to wake you up. You slammed on the off button and started changing into your uniform. The little Mom and Pop store you worked at actually paid really well, and if you needed more work and money, you always were on backup as a janitor for a nearby factory.

You brushed through your hair and walked to your bathroom for some makeup and to brush your teeth. Once you finished, you walked out and saw your three boys ready for the day. You smiled at them softly and turned the light off to your bathroom. They all roused and let you pick them up and carry them to the kitchen. You made them breakfast, intending on skipping, since you weren't hungry enough to eat. The uneasy feeling in your gut from last night hadn't left, and made you feel a little sick.

"(Y/n)." Esper warned, as you went to grab your jacket and purse after making the four of you lunches.

"You guys can go with me to work today!" You cheered, nervously trying to get Esper to forget you haven't eaten yet.

"(Y/n) no-" Esper was cut off by BellPepper.

"REALLY???" He gasped, excited.

"Yep!" You chirped back.

"I think you should ea-" Esper was cut off again by Turtle, which made you feel a little bad.

"i hope it's not too much work for you kid. don't want to work you to the bone watching us and doing your job." Turtle said, looking happy.

"It won't be work at all!" You beamed. "We have a bitty pen near the windows so you guys can get some sunlight. There's a sign on it that says 'Employee Bitties: Ask before you touch/pet/pickup'!"

"But before you go, can you please at least eat some toast." Esper huffed, crossing his arms after his finished his own food. Turtle and BellPepper looked at you confused and slightly disappointed.

"YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE WITHOUT EATING BREAKFAST?" BellPepper asked, with his hands on his hips.

"Maybe?" You shrugged and grabbed a bagel half and taking a bite out of it. You ate quickly and awkwardly. After you finished, you packed everyone's lunch in your lunch box and made sure your boys had water bottles, and left the house with your bittes.

You hopped into your car, and everyone filed off you and onto the dashboard as you buckled up. The ride to the shop was quietly filled with some music station Turtle had turned it to. Once you made it to the shop and parked, the bitties already there saw you and your boys and made happy sounds that you couldn't hear. You saw Jason's bitties watching you with mild interest. He had a SunShard Alphys bitty, which is practically a Fell version of the usually soft, quiet spoken Sunstone Alphys bitty. His other bitty is a rather beat up Corny Lamia, which is pretty much a Sansy as a Lamia, that he rescued.

You smiled at both of them and walked through the door. The shop was still closed, so it was quiet. You set your bitties in the pen and gave each one of them a loving pet.

"I'll come back around lunch time to give you three your lunches, okay?" You smiled at them and went to the backroom to start restocking the shelves. You saw Jason putting jars of honey back on the shelves. You jogged over to him, trying to push down the uneasy feeling in your stomach. "Hey, Jason!" You chirped, putting jams back in their rightful places.

"Oh, hey (Y/n)." Jason looked at you with a smile. His deep brown hair was combed out of his face neatly, and he looked well rested. He stood straighter today, making him an inch or two taller than you. He looked more refreshed today than he did yesterday. "We still on for dinner after work?" He looked a little nervous. You chalked it up to him being nervous for the date.

"Yep!" You smiled. "I even brought my bitties, since they wanted to meet you."

"Oh, then I guess they'll meet Robin and Curly before they meet me." He chuckled.

"They usually get along with anyone." You replied. You actually had no idea if they did or not. You just really hoped they did.

"That's good. Hopefully Robin isn't too rough with them, she tends to get too excited over new bitties." Jason sighed, talking about his SunShard. "Well, let's just hope today goes by fast. See you later, (Y/n)!" With that, he was gone to actually open the store, and flipping the sign.

And fast did the day go by. You barely had enough time during your lunch break to get your boy's lunch to them in time before getting swept back into work. Today was possibly the busiest day you have ever worked here, which was rather odd. Usually the stream of people is light, but enough to keep the store afloat. Soon enough, your's and Jason's shift was ending. You changed out of your uniform and shoved it in your bag, putting on a nicer outfit, brushing your hair, and putting some deodorant on. Then walked out of the bathroom. Turtle, Esper, and BellPepper were waiting for you. You gently scooped them all up, since they seemed like they wanted out of the pen.

But, that's when you noticed they all had scratches littering their skulls and arms. Turtle had his new jacket tied around his waist, and Esper had his sleeves roll up.

"Are you guys alright?" You whispered, they all looked away from you.

"just peachy, sweetheart." Turtle grumbled and shuffled his jacket back on.

"Hey, (Y/n)!" You turned to see Jason smiling at you, with his bitties on his shoulders. "Do you want to follow me to the cafe?"

"Yeah, I'll do that." You smiled, the fact that all three of your bitties go stiff doesn't go past you. They all traveled from your hands to your shoulders as you walked out of the store.

You got into your car, and none of your boys moved from your shoulders. You didn't question it, and just followed Jason to the little monster pastry shop that seemed so popular.

When you parked and followed Jason into Muffet's Pastry Café, you realized that the uneasy feeling in your stomach was beginning to make you feel like something bad was going to happen. You smiled at Jason when he turned to look at you when you both ordered and went to go sit down. The both of you talked happily until your food was ready, but it was strange how Jason looked like he was looking for someone. You shrugged it off, and pushed down your uneasiness even more. It didn't help that your back was to the door.

Jason came back with your food, smile looking strained.

"Hey, is something wrong?" You asked nervously.

He opened his mouth to say something, then the bell to the entrance rang. He perked up when he saw someone behind you, then looked looked at you apologetically. It felt as though your heart slowed and your stomach dropped. Then he did something you subconciously knew he would do.

He leaned forward and whispered. "I'm sorry." Before getting up, and leaving you.

He left you alone, in the middle of a busy café, for someone you couldn't see.

...

He didn't even finish his coffee.


	11. New Mission: Bitty Foster Home

You felt like someone had punched your chest, leaving you breathless as you stared at Jason's untouched coffee as he talked to who ever was behind you. You felt as though someone took your heart and ripped it up before putting it through a meat grinder. Your eyes burned as tears swam in your vision, Esper hissed quietly in Jason's direction as Turtle and BellPepper tried to cheer you up. You no longer felt hungry, in fact, you wanted to throw up all the tea you had drank while talking to Jason. You didn't touch the pastry you had chosen. It still looked appetizing, so you were going to save it for your boys. You stood up slowly, trying to to ignore the sympathetic stares from around the shop.

You turned around to leave, and saw Jason, arm in arm with another guy. The punch to your chest felt even more painful when the guy Jason was talking happily to grinned at you cockily and winked.

You left before the tears could actually fall. Your fist tightened around the bag of pastries that you bought as you walked as calmly as you could back to your car. You got in, glad that the front of your car was facing the street. You let the tears fall freely. Your shoulders shook as you curled in on yourself, Esper, BellPepper, and Turtle all panicking to make you feel better.

"DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO BREAK YOU DOWN, (Y/N)!"

"don't let him get to you, he wasn't worth your time anyway kid."

"You have us, and we would never do that to you. I swear on my soul that I would never hurt you." You looked down at Esper, who was on your lap, clutching the necklace you given him with vigor. "No one is ever going to hurt you like that if I-WE," He gestured to the Tale bitties aggressively. "Have anything to do about it." Turtle and Pepper nodded.

"I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH ESPER!" Pepper bellowed. "I WILL NOT ALLOW SOME HUMAN TO SLANDER YOU IN SUCH A WAY YOU ARE CRYING! I REFUSE TO ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!" He put his hands on his hips, expression serious.

"ditto." You could see the seriousness in Turtle's face, as if he had too much emotion that he couldn't put it into words.

This only served to make you cry harder. But instead of turning away from them, you curled them closer to your chest, hugging them softly to your chest. You cried quietly, sniffling every once in a while, whispering 'Thank you' to them.

After several minutes of crying you sat up, feeling a headache beginning to drum in your skull. You felt lighter, but your eyes burned, and you still had remaining hiccups from your crying.

"All Better?" Pepper asked hesitantly, rubbing your hand in a calming gesture.

"Yeah." You smiled weakly at him. "All better." You were about to say something else when your phone went off, you shuffled around awkwardly to try and get it to see the text message. You got your phone out of your purse without knocking your bitties off your lap and saw the message was from Ethyl.

Bitty Shop Owner: Hey, sorry about the random text! But I was wondering if u could come over for a little bit to talk over some stuff about some new arrivals in my shop.

You glanced at your boys in confusion before texting back.

(Y/n): Yeah, I'll come over in about 15 mins. See u soon, ttyl

"Who was that?" Esper asked, trying to peak at your phone.

"Ethyl. He wants me to go over to the bitty shop to look at some of his 'new arrivals'." You shrugged, wiping your face with the palm of your hand. You set your boys in the dashboard of the car as you buckled up and drove to the bitty shop. It was quite a ways away from Muffet's, and you were glad. Putting this much distance from you and Jason would be best, right? You pulled into your normal spot in front of the shop and loaded all of your bitties onto your shoulders and grabbed your pastries that you bought before going inside. You wanted to share what you weren't going to eat with some of the bitties in the shop. Maybe you could find Bunsen and Burner if they haven't already been adopted.

You made your way to the front desk, and tapped on the little ringer. "Hey Ethyl?" You called when no one showed up at the desk. "I'm here!"

"Eerie, can you bring (Y/n)-ow! Bossy, what did I do wrong this time?" Ethyl's voice was so gentle and concerned, you could feel his fatherliness leaking through the door way. The soft patter of feet alerted you that someone was going through the back door. An about twelve year old looking monster with goat ears, three axolotl fins on each side of her head poked her head past the door and motion you to follow her and disappeared again.

You and your bitties radiated with confusion and went into the back room as well. Once you stepped past a very soft cloth curtain, you saw where Ethyl cares, cleans, and prepares food for all his bitties. He was kneeling near a wall completely covered with monster candy, bandages, cotton swathes, and so much more first aid. Ethyl at the moment, had a Bossy latched onto the palm of his large hand. The Bossy's grip was unshakable, and he growled every time Ethyl petted him softly with one finger.

"Sorry, I'm a bit tied up at the moment." He gave you a slightly pained smile. "But I'll talk while I help these guys." The Bossy slowly lessened his grip as Ethyl petted him. "A Bitty fighting ring was just broken up a few hours ago. A lot of the bitties went to higher end shops that can help them more. We got four out of the thirty-seven that were rescued." You winced at the ridiculous number.

"I'm glad they got them all saved, right?" You scanned the room and saw Everest putting a...silver tooth onto a Baby Blue with a nasty crack along his skull that connected to where his lost tooth was to his lower eyesocket. He glared at you, exhaustion evident, but he still held himself with pride and confidence, something you could never take out of a Baby Blue. Beside him, a 'Lil Bro was passed out. He had awful looking cracks that connected his closed left eyesocket to his nasal cavity. He was absolutely drowning in a big fluffy orange hoodie, looking more relaxed than he's probably ever been in his life.

"They managed to save that many out of forty." Ethyl cringed. "The other three dusted while being driven here, so we only got four." He was gently tending to the Bossy's broken ulna, trying to not get bitten. Right beside the Bossy was an exhausted looking Edgy who refused to stop glaring at anything and everything.

"That's...awful." The urge to cry felt strong again as you watched these broken bitties try to understand a gentle touch. The Baby Blue kept flinching whenever Everest tried to get that tooth in his mouth correctly, and Edgy was staring at your bitties with such a dangerous intent, you purposely shielded them with your hair.

"It truly is. They think they have to fight eachother to get fed." He nodded at the 'Lil Bro. "He and Edgy got into a nasty fight because they thought their brother's life was on the line." He sighed.

"But, this isn't what you want to talk to me about, is it?" You rubbed your cheek, thoughtfully.

"No, it is not." He gave the Bossy a monster candy, and watched him eat it before turning to look back at you. "Ever since I met you, you've been so loving and kind towards bitties. I was wondering if you could foster these four and help them get better. Help them get used to human interaction and interaction with other bitties." He sweated nervously, shuffling over to help his son with the Baby Blue.

"So you want me to foster some bitties, so they can get adopted by someone else?" You rubbed your temples. "Bitties have emotions and can get attached just as much as we can. I can only take them in after I think about it for a day or two. Then they have to agree as well!" You gestured to the four very beat up bitties. "Plus! I don't know what to do if they have a panic attack or anxiety attack while they're in my care!" You tugged at your shirt, trying not to look and sound too agitated, in fear of making the other bitties uncomfortable.

"I'll give you a day or two then." Ethyl decided. "Come back when you want to talk to me about this. Whether it's disagreeing or not. It will give these four time to choose what they want, and all is fair, right?"

"Right...Right." You mumbled. You were confused though, your bitties never said anything through the entire interaction. "Well, bye then Ethyl. I'll come back in about a day with my answer." He nodded at you and shooed you away.

"Then go get some rest. It looks like you need it." He mused. You left the room after glancing around the room, making sure to leave your pastries for the four you may or may not foster.

You wondered as you walked to your car when had life gotten so confusing, and if you fostered those bitties, would you not have enough strength to give them up? Or would you give them away as soon as they fully recovered? Right now, however, you just want to go to sleep cuddling up with Esper and your Tale Bitties.


	12. Level Boss: (Y/n)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has vivid memories of death and abuse in a bitty’s perspective. I will show where the memories begin and end. Please do not read if it’s possibly triggering! The formatting on AO3 is different from where I originally put this story, so every flash back or memory will start with (Memory Begin) and ends with (End).

"Blue, you can't just go without this tooth. You need it if you want to get adopted!" Ethyl pleaded with the Baby Blue, holding the tooth with some tweezers. "Where you lost your tooth will not only get infected, but no one will want to adopt you!"

"GOOD!" He sneered, looking at the big monster with distaste. The monster that betted on him was much, much bigger than this wimpy Fish Monster. "I'D RATHER DUST THAN GET 'ADOPTED'!" He turned away forcefully, so he was looking at his sleeping brother. Crafty usually never slept around those he didn't trust, but that brawl with the Edgy on the other side of the room had left him exhuasted. So much so he passed out while changing clothes. Blue crossed his arms and sat down heavily, ignoring Ethyl's sigh of frustration.

"You need this tooth. It will help you eat, Blue. You will eat...won't you?" The Fish monster added nervously.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Blue snarled back heatedly. "AS IF I TRUST THESE BITTY SHOPS TO NOT DRUG ME AND DO AS THEY WISH WITH ME. I WON'T BE TRICKED LIKE THAT AGAIN." Ugly memories reared their heads making Blue cringe. He shoved those dark feelings away and scoffed. "I REFUSE TO ALLOW ANYONE OTHER THAN MY BROTHER CLOSE TO ME AT THE MOMENT! I WILL THINK ABOUT THE TOOTH." He made a shooing motion with his gloved hand. 

Ethyl puffed up, but left anyway, looking highly irritated. Good, now he knows how Blue feels. Blue turned back to Crafty, who opened an eye socket.

"we safe yet?" He croaked, sitting up with a pained grimace.

"No." Blue muttered. "The Fells Are Over There Across From Us Still. I Don't Know if They Are Going To Attack or not. Runt Isn't Going To Move From His Edgy In A Little While. He'd Probably Fight Us With His Broken Arm." He glared over his shoulder at the Fell Bitties across from them. They glared back, neither of them talking.

"are we gonna blow this joint?" Crafty lowered his voice even more, Blue didn't.

"Of Course We Are. We Just Need To Wait For That Little Human To Come Back With Her Answer About Taking Us In." Blue had been thinking about this escape plan since he saw the human named '(Y/n)'. "If She Takes Us In We Could Try And Hop Out A Window Or Escape Some Other way. We Could Live In The Woods, Crafty. With No One To Bother Us-"

"-an' no one to fight us." Crafty ended, a small smile playing at his teeth. "sounds like a pretty good plan. we just need the right time, and you need that tooth." He nodded to the gap in Blue's frown.

"I Know. I Just Don't Want Them Touching Me Right Now." Blue shrugged and tilted his head as Crafty perked up, smelling something good, apparently.

"what's that smell?" He asked, voice returning to its normal croaky volume.

Blue hated to remeber what made Crafty's voice so broken. That poor Softy's dust was so dry, but they were so hungry...

Blue shrugged, trying to push another memory away. He lost his sense of smell months ago when a Cherry hit his nasal cavity hard enough to cave it inward( it was healed, but all he could smell now is his own dust...). He could only taste what was on the air now, instead of smelling it normally. When he opened his mouth, a soft, sweet scent made his mouth water. He and Crafty made eye contact before getting up slowly to look for the smell. Blue found it swiftly, and a rush of nostalgic euphoria washed over him.

(Memory Begins)

"C'mon Mommy!" Blue's human cheered as he marched up to 'Muffet's Pastry Shop & Café'. "Miss Muffet said she had my favorite on sale today!" Blue and his human's mother both highly doubted it. She chuckled and strolled over to Blue and her son. HotWheels (Crafty) sat comfortable on her shoulder, waving at his brother happily, looking well fed and rested.

"I'm coming Daniel, don't worry." She chuckled, walking over to him and grabbing his hand. Daniel let out a laugh, and reached up to pat Blue, making sure the bitty was still on his head.

"Alright then!" He cheered sweetly. "Let's go see Miss Muffet!"

(End)

Blue softly touched the 'Muffet's' paper bag, tears welling up in his sockets. He missed his old human. Daniel was so kind, his JUSTICE soul was so bright for such a small human child. His mother's soul was a beautiful BRAVERY, nearly out shining any other human adult. And that's what got them both killed. Blue grit his teeth as he remembered how they had gotten cornered after a day in the park.

(Memory Begin)

"Leave my son out of this!" Daniel's mother snarled quietly. Blue, HotWheel (Crafty), and Daniel were huddle behind her.

"How about you empty your purse and pockets if you don't want your precious angels hurt." The oddly well dressed human sneered back at her. But she refused. "Do you wanna fuckin' die?" The human's hand shook, and Daniel's mother surged forward. She was shot down before she could get his gun out of his hand. Her body flopped onto the ground sickeningly, dead, blood flowing freely from her mouth. Daniel wailed. BUT NOBODY CAME. 

Daniel left Blue and his brother to attack his mother's murderer, but...the short sobs that filled the air after the retched human shot Daniel echoed in his skull even now. The JUST human child died alone, curled in the arms of his dead mother. He was only seven.

(End)

"I FOUND IT, CRAFTY!" Blue called, wiping his face, not yet ready to think about the past. He just needed safe food to eat. He knew this food was safer than anything in this awful Bitty Shop.

"ya did?" Crafty shortcutted beside him and stiffened, but instead of holding his emotions in like Blue did, his tears flowed freely. They were silent as they stared at the bag, neither of them moved. It was respect for Daniel and his mother.

Slowly, they tipped the bag over and opened it. Fortunately, neither of their old adopters favorites were in there, if there had been, neither of the Swap bitties would eat them. Swiftly, they both dug into a Jelly filled donut, leaving whatever else was in there for the Fells. They ate in silence, both trying to not get their brand new clothes sticky with the treat.

Once they finished and washed up in the bitty sink near the fluffy nest Ethyl's son had made them, they curled up, needing rest.

Blue kept waking up. After a strange dream, and an even stranger taste in his mouth made him want to wake up, but too tired to move and see what's wrong. So he just drifted in and out of sleep before he actually fell into a deeper sleep.

Blue was shaken lightly awake by Crafty, who murmured apologies. "ethyl wants us to agree on something. it's really important, apparently." He shrugged as Blue groaned. Could the Baby Blue never sleep in for once? He grumbled and pulled himself from the very comfortable nest and glared at Ethyl and the Fell Bitties that were way to close to him and his brother.

"Good moring you two." The Fish monster murmured, giving Blue as strange look, one Blue didn't understand. "I would like you four to decide whether or not you want the human from yesterday to foster you until you are better." He held up his hand, obviously not wanting to hear the runty Bossy's voice this early in the morning. "Just...talk about it. When you decide as a whole, tell me and I'll tell (Y/n). You won't have to stay here, and she will help you get used to living with other bitties and humans such as herself." It was obvious the other two bitties didn't like the idea just as much as Blue and Crafty. 

"If you don't like your names, then she can rename you. If not she won't, just please let her try to help you. That's all I'm asking." With a heavy sigh, he stood up, and left the four to converse among themselves.

"WELL OBVIOUSLY WE MUST GO WITH THIS HUMAN '(Y/N)'." Blue declared, getting a glare from Runt (the annoying Bossy) and Pest (the infuriating Edgy that fought Crafty). "WHAT? SHE LEFT US SOME SAFE FOOD TO EAT SO WE DON'T STARVE WHILE WE'RE HERE." Runt growled at Blue aggressively.

"AS IF I'M GOING TO STAY WITH SOME HUMAN WITH BITTIES TYPES WE ALL HAVE KILLED!" Runt snarled, nursing the arm that was broken. Blue figured that Ethyl healed it while he and Crafty were alseep.

"hey blue bitch." Pest spoke up roughly. "didn't you say you didn't want that fuckin' tooth?" Blue touched where the gap where his canine would be and felt hard metal. He let out a near demonic snarl, memories flooding back into his head.

(Memory Begin)

Dust in his mouth, his eye sockets, his skull rang as the lamia pinned him harsh to the ground with his tail, pummeling him brutally. The lamia brought his fist down hard, knocking out Blue's canine. Bloody marrow dripped from Blue' face as he struggled weakly. The lamia soaked up all the cheers from the crowd. He (the Krait Lamia) smiled cruelly, finally getting his much needed affection, even if it was in the worst way possible. Blue passed out, not waking up until he felt his owner pressing harshly against his ribcage with a thumb, he felt his cracked ribs cave under the punishment. He screamed, but the human said nothing. He probably lost a big bet, and Blue needed to either make it up to him or dust.

(End)

"-ue." Crafty shook his brother. "it wasn't ethyl who did that. i did. i knew you wouldn't let him. relax. it was me." Crafty rubbed Blue's back as he breathed deeply.

"I Still Say We Agree With This Monster And Escape On Our Own Terms. You Two Are Mostly Intelligent I'm Guessing." The Fells growled at Blue, he shrugged it off. "This Human We are going To Is A Push Over I'm Positive. We Can leave When We Want, And Come Back, And She'd Still Take Us In." 

"SMART, FOR A BABY BLUE." Runt grunted. "SO IT'S FINAL. I'LL MAKE ETHYL AWARE." Runt took a deep breath and Pest casually covered his ear holes. Blue and Crafty copied, fearing the worst.

"ETHYL!" Runt bellowed at an impressive volume for such a small Bossy. "WE AGREE WITH YOUR STUPID FOSTER CARE HUMAN!" Ethyl came skittering in, panic quickly desolving into relief.

"Really?" He breathed. "I'll call (Y/n), hopefully she'll be able to come over soon." He took his phone out and called a number, he spoke softly with someone on the phone, before deflating in disappointment. He hung up the phone, and turned to them. "She won't be here until her shift is over. But! None of her bitties came along with her! So you'll get to meet her while she's alone!" Ethyl gave them a tired strained smile.

"GOOD!" Blue puffed, folding his arms. "THEN WE SHALL WAIT FOR HER TO PICK US UP." He glared at the fish monster. "TELL HER THAT I AND CRAFTY WANT DIFFERENT NAMES."

"US AS WELL!" Runt cut in. "WE WANT NEW NAMES AS WELL." Ethyl nodded and typed in a message in his phone, before looking back at them.

"I'll have clothes for you all ready. (Y/n) says her Tale bitties will be sleeping with her while you four take their old beds." He chirped, and left to go get their 'things' ready to leave.

"NOW," Runt turned on Blue now. "WHERE IS THIS 'SAFE FOOD' YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?"

While the four bitties waited for their new foster human to pick them up, Blue pointed out the Muffet's bag. Runt and Pest have obviously been starved by their old owner in the ring before being rescued. The only thing that clued Blue on that is how aggressively they ate the donut holes left in the bag. The hours flew by rather quickly, and soon enough, the bell to the shop rang, and Blue felt his non-existent stomach drop. Ethyl gently brought the four of them out of the back room to see (Y/n) looking haggard, but happy all the same.

"Have you found a name for them yet?" Ethyl asked thoughtfully, the human glanced at Blue and the others warmly.

"Yes, actually." She hummed warmly. Her scent was soft, as well as light and fresh.

"Hades for the Bossy." Blue realized how soft she looked. "Ares for the Edgy." Her hair gleamed gently in the soft light of the shop. "Wulfenite for the 'Lil Bro." Her eyes stopped on him, his soul fluttered with odd nervousness. "And Sodalite for the Baby Blue."

Oh no. Why does he not absolutely despise that name?


	13. Side Mission: Earn Their Trust

Your hands trembled slightly as you signed the last sheet of paperwork, and tucked all of the new bitty's clothes in the bag on the table. Hades and Ares seemed to be agitated, both shifting and glancing around them wearily. Sodalite and Wulfenite seemed more comfortable and relaxed, but you saw the concealed threat they held. Both of the Swap Bitties were tense, feinting laziness rather easily.

"Are you all set, (Y/n)?" Ethyl asked softly. You nodded, mouth dry, voice failing you.

"Y-Yeah." You finally choked out. "I'm ready to go when they are." Sodalite scrunched his nasal cavity at you, bone brows arching.

You kneeled down laying your arms on the table, allowing the Swaps and Fells to willingly walk onto your shoulders. They all filed on, Ares grumbled something about 'nasty ass human hair' getting in his face as he sat next to your neck. The others held clusters of hair to keep standing straight.

"Alright, I'll give you an update later, Ethyl!" You chirped, trying to sound happy and not nervous enough to cry.

"I'll make sure you do!" The Fish monster called back, and waved at you as you left.

You made your way to your care silently, being highly aware of the stiff bitties on your shoulders. You got in as carefully as possible, and gently let them awkwardly slid down your arm and onto the dashboard. You pulled out of your parking spot and began the way home. You could feel all of their judging eyes boring into as if they could light you on fire with sheer willpower.

"WHY DID YOU NAME ME HADES AND MY BROTHER ARES?" The too small Bossy asked, though his question sounded more like a demand to know. You glanced at him, taking in his small stature. While most normal Bossys stand at a littler bigger than your hand, which aren't that big to begin with. This Bossy could stand by a normal sized one and only reach his shoulders.

"You g-guys reminded me of Greek gods is a-all." You shakily answered back.

"THEN WHO ARE THEY?" Hades demanded harshly, making you flinch a little. You began to watch the road again, not noticing his triumphant grin.

"Well..." You trailed off. "Hades is the Greek god of death. He was put in charge of putting those in either a good or bad after life based on their mortal life." You took a deep breath. "Ares is the Greek god of war. He would grant those who prayed to him strength and victory in battle. Ares and Hades kind of worked hand in hand, since...war...creates death." You mumbled the last part, mostly to yourself.

"then what about our names, kid?" The 'Lil Bro spoke up for the first time you have ever heard. His voice was so broken and rough, as if he was forced to eat and swallow sandpaper. Your chest pulsed with sadness.

"Um, gemstones." You replied, gaining slight confidence as you drove. You were nearly home. "Wulfenite is a usually orange red gem that forms in sharp square like patterns. Sodalite is also a gem, but it's a speckled white gem. It has parts where it's a light blue, then dark blue, and white or grey." You turned into your apartment's parking lot, relaxing ever so slightly. "They're both really pretty and need to be formed under immense amounts of pressure." You parked and grabbed the bag that held all of their clothes. You held out your arms and they filed on once more. You closed the door with your his easily and locked the doors as you walked to the complex.

You waved awkwardly at the lady at the desk, she just raised her brow at you. Everyone was beginning to pay much more attention to you ever since you got Turtle and BellPepper, and you hated it. Now that you have four more bitties, you were most definitely going to have a nickname by the end of the month. You took the elevator to your floor, and opened the door. When you walked in, you saw Esper and BellPepper frozen in their spots with Turtle in a jar, about to be pushed down a rather impressive ramp. You immediately knew you couldn't stop them with the new boys on your shoulders. Slowly, you closed the door, trying so hard to not grin.

"Don't you dare, push him down that." You said, trying to not snicker as you put down the bags. The new bitties slid off your shoulders and watched with amusement. Esper put his hand on the top of the jar, and BellPepper braced himself, both looking you dead in the eyes. And-

-pushed Turtle off the ramp.

Turtle let out a surprised yell that ended in uncontrollable laughter as he spun down the entire ramp, with you chasing after him in a panic. He landed in a pile of pillows and blankets at the end of the ramp, you instantly unscrewed the lid and relaxed when you saw how safe they made this 'ride'. They layered the inside with bubble wrap you didn't even know you had. As well as all around the ramp edges, there were lone pillows and blankets for a soft unexpected landing. You took him out to examine the Sansy bitty, who was still out of breath and giggly.

"you should have seen your face, (y/n)." He finally wheezed, flopping on your hands as you brought him to the counter. BellPepper and Esper made there way over to you as well, you scooped them up and set them near Turtle.

"Alright, you all know that we agreed to take in and foster these guys, right?" You said, and your older boys nodded. "Then let's start with introductions!" You laced your fingers together nervously, but held a smile. "As you four already know, I am (Y/n). I'm the only human in this house, and there are no pets here." You nodded.

"I am Esper." Esper spoke up, straightening out his shirt and pushing up his glasses. "I was the first bitty (Y/n) adopted."

"I'M BELLPEPPER, IT'S NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU FOUR FACE TO FACE!" Pepper made a heroic pose, grinning from socket to socket.

"'m turtle. no need to be on edgy though, we aren't that bossy." He chuckled at the disapproving looks from the more energetic bitties. "don't look so blue, you're gonna be living with us for a 'lil while." You all looked at the newer bitties expectantly. Hades stepped up first.

"I AM HADES, AND THIS IS MY BROTHER ARES." He gestured to Ares, who shrugged and went back to eyeing your fridge.

"AND I AM SODALITE." Soda spoke up. "THIS IS MY BROTHER CR-WULFENITE." He corrected himself grimly. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS INTRODUCTION?" The Baby Blue huffed, tracing his new tooth boredly. "WE ALREADY KNOW WHO YOU ALL ARE."

"Uh..." Yes. Nice (Y/n), smooth. "I just though you four should know??" Your reply sounded more like a question.

"COMPLETELY USELESS IF YOU ASK ME." Soda grunted and began looking around your home. "WELL, AT THE VERY LEAST, YOUR HOME ISN'T A TOTAL WASTE DUMP." You decided to take that as a compliment.

"Oookay." You picked slightly at your nails. "You four can roam around and get used to this place, I'll call you when dinner is ready. Make yourself at home."

You began to nervously sweat when Soda locked eyes with Esper, who scrunched in on himself. Soda dropped his hand from his tooth and took a threatening step towards your lamia. You jumped into action before anything could escalate, scooping up your lamia and putting him on your shoulder. Sodalite glared at you hatefully. You realized how terrifying Baby Blue are without those stars in their sockets.

"A-And if you attack any of the boys I adopted, y-you'll go straight back to Ethyl." Your voice shook slightly, but you were serious. "I will not tolerate violence against anyone in this house." You put your hand on Esper and looked at Turtle and BellPepper pointedly. "If they try to hurt any of you, do not attack back. Go straight to me."

You grabbed the foster bitties' bags and made your way to your room to put the new dressers by your Tale bitty's old beds. You frowned when you realized that your night stand was becoming too crowded for everything.

"Do you think I should put the other night stand in here?" You mumbled to Esper.

"There's another nightstand?" Esper sounded surprised. "Where is it?" 

You face palmed, forgetting you've only had Esper for not even an entire month yet. "I have a guest bedroom that has a night stand just like this one. I'm probably just gonna move it in here. I have enough room to spare." You shrugged and set the bags down on your bed, before going to the guest bedroom. As you walked you poked your head through the doorway to check up on how the others were getting along.

Hades and Ares were side by side, with the latter helping his brother up onto the couch. They looked more or less relaxed. You scanned around for Wulfenite and Sodalite, and could only see Wulfenite...staring at you. He was leaning on your new microwave, obviously covering for his brother, who was probably up to no good. You took Esper off your shoulder and whispered to him. "Keep an eye on those two Swaps. I have a feeling they're going to be more work than the Fells." He nodded and you set him down. You watched him slither away, and you went back to the guest room, which was cracked open.

When you pushed the door open you saw a flash of blue and the light patter of feet. You immediately knew who it was.

"Sodalite, I know you're in here." You sighed and went to the night stand. You haven't been in here for a few years, so mostly everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. You never really liked how it smelled ever since an ...unwelcome presence left. You walked over to the nightstand and dusted it off with your hands, jumping when Soda launched himself onto the bed.

"YOU SAID THERE WAS NO OTHER HUMAN LIVING HERE." He accused angrily.

"I did." You affirmed. "The person who lived here is gone, and has been for a few years now. They're not coming back any time soon." You opened the drawer to see if it was empty and hummed to yourself.

"WHAT'D THEY DO TO MAKE YOU MAKE THEM LEAVE?" He asked as you scooted it out from beside the bed.

"They hurt me worse than my most recent date. So there's that." You shrugged and unwrapped the alarm clock wire that had been coiled around the night stand's leg. You didn't want to remember how Jason tried to explain himself after work today. "Plus, they were a bum anyway. I don't know why I kept them around for so much." You heaved the stand up and wobbled to your room. Sodalite followed you.

"I'M NOT SURPRISED YOU LET A BUM LIVE WITH YOU." He huffed. "THAT KINDNESS SOUL OF YOURS CAN GET YOU IN TROUBLE." You rolled your eyes.

"Gee thanks Soda," You wheezed as you passed through your door. "You sure your kindness is going to get you in trouble?" He let out a snort.

"OBVIOUSLY NOT." He replied. "I'LL SPEAK WITH YOU LATER, YOU HAVE COMPANY IN HERE." You were expecting Esper or one of your Tale boys to be in here, but was so kindly greeted by a glaring Hades. And Ares, who was flopped on your pillow, rolling on it as if he didn't know you where in here.

"Do you need something?" They haven't even been here for an entire day yet, and the glaring was already getting old.

"YES."

"Then what is it?"

"we're hungry." Ares spoke up from your pillow, obviously unashamed by being caught on your pillow.

"I'll start dinner as soon as I get you all set up." You grunted as you set down the stand by the original one. "Then we can eat."

Both the Fell bitties looked at with mild surprise. "didn't know you got so comfortable with us already." Ares chuckled.

"Nah, I'm just tired and I want to sit down and rest a little while." You sighed and started spreading out dressers and putting clothes in them. You moved the beds apart, and the space of the night stands really helped with your problem. "Plus, don't you want me to be comfortable around you?" Ares shrugged, and Hades looked irritated.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE US IN TO BEGIN WITH?" The bossy finally asked.

"she felt bad for us." Wulfenite said from the door way. "she wants to help fix us. so we're pitch perfect when she brings us back to ethyl's. to be adopted and then put back into the same place we left. the ring."

"Th-That's not true!" You protested, hurt that he would think of something like that.

"and how are we supposed to know that?" Wulfenite challenged, eyes sharp. "we barely know anything about you. why else would you want to foster us?"

"Because I want to help you!" You said, voice nearly breaking. "If it meant keeping you out of any bitty fighting ring, I would adopt all of you to keep you safe! I'm doing this out of my love for bitties and my dislike for humanity!" Wulfenite went silent, eye sockets wide with surprise. Then, everything about him softened. He looked so tired now.

"'kay then. call me when dinner' ready (y/n)." He walked off, leaving you confused. You looked back at Hades and Ares who were giving you an odd look.

"What?" You asked, trying to keep your voice controlled.

"IT'S NOTHING. CARRY ON." Hades waved you off and jumped off your bed. Ares followed suit. They all left you highly confused, but you were too mentally and physically drained to ask any questions at this point.


	14. Achievement Unlocked: Tragic BackStory

(Memory Begin)

Runt (Hades) knew that the human that adopted him and his assigned brother hated him. All that human wanted was his brother, an Edgy that was abnormally big. He didn't want a failure of a Bossy, like Runt. That brat even had the audacity to name him 'Runt'. The Bossy wanted to rip off the humiliating doll clothes the Brat made him wear, since normal bossy clothes were too big. Honestly, a Blackberry's clothes would be less humiliating than this!

His brother was treated like a king though. He was even given the name of a Titan, who was the king of the sky. Runt clenched his tiny fist as the Brat played happily with his brother.

"why can't boss come over here too?" Runt's brother asked softly. This made Runt's soul swell with hope.

"He doesn't play by the rules." Brat huffed childishly. "I don't want him to play with us. He's no fun." He turned to the Bossy, eyes glinting hatefully. "Aren't you, Runt?"

"I PLAY BY MY OWN RULES. YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT IF YOU ACTUALLY READ ABOUT BOSSYS." Runt bared his teeth at Brat just as hatefully.

"Tristan?" Brat's father was in the doorway. "What's going on in here?" Brat's father was so kind to Runt.

"Nothing, Dad!" Brat chirped happily. "Runt said he really wanted to stay with you!"

"I thought I told you Runt was an unacceptable name." Brat's father bent down with a wince and ever so gently scooped Runt up. "His name is not Runt, it's BonFire."

"Okay, fine." Brat went back to playing with the Edgy. Runt felt hurt, but it was lessened when his brother smiled at him. He smiled back and was carried away by Brat's father.

"I am so sorry he treats you like this." Brat's father whispered. "You do not derserve to be treated like a toy to be cast aside." The graying, broken green soul in the human carrying him let out a mournful melody.

"IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT HE DOESN'T WANT ME." Runt sighed. "HE IS ONLY KEEPING ME SO MY BROTHER DOESN'T FALL DOWN."

"But I could still teach him at least." The old human set him down on the counter softly. "If I succeed, he will be kinder than you remember him as." Runt doubted that. That Brat was a strong Perseverance soul. Almost nothing could shake him.

"IT IS FINE." Runt rolled his shoulders. "I'VE BEEN THROUGH WORSE."

Brat's father didn't look convinced. But the night went on as it usually would. The old human made dinner for the four of them. They ate silently, then Brat would disappear in his room with Runt's brother. Not to be seen until breakfast tomorrow. And then it would repeat. The old kind human retreated to his room to get ready for the night, and Runt was left alone, just like he always was.

Runt had dozed off on the rather warm nest Brat's father had made for him. He only roused when he heard soft feet patting up to the table he waa on. A hand grabbed him suddenly, making him jolt awake and try to bite down on who ever held him.

"If you make any sound, I'll squeeze you 'til you pop." Brat's voice held no playful tone as he marched outside with Runt. Runt struggled, but made no sound, but he did realize the slices of lunch meat in the human child's other hand. What was this brat planning on doing? He opened the back door quietly and stepped out. He dropped the meat by a worryingly large hole at the fence, as if the neighbor's two bitty hungry dogs were digging at it. The was aggressive snuffling by the hole. Runt froze with fear and looked up at the Brat, red tears gathering at his eye sockets.

"What Are You Doing?" He whispered.

"Getting rid of you for once." Brat snarled. Runt's soul dropped. This human was going to dust him. "But I'm not going to kill you. If you leave and never come back, I won't care. But if you come back for my Edgy, then I'll make sure those dogs eat you." He nodded to the heads poking out of the hole. "I already have the dust from another bitty all over here, now I just need this." Brat ripped away Runt's only sense of protection. His scarf. 

"Get out of here. Leave." Brat snarled, throwing him to the ground. Runt stood up shakily, and ran. He scaled the fence facing the street and...never saw his brother again. He tried to go back, but the threat lingered in his head....

"But if you come back for my Edgy, then I'll make sure those dogs eat you."

(End)

Hades shot out of his bed, breathing hard. Everthing around him was hazy, his bad eye was nearly blind. It took him several seconds to realize where he was. Pes-Ares was snoring beside him, and the disgusting scent of other bitties made him scrunch his nasal cavity. Right. He was here, in this stupid foster human's home. He couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep. But the red numbers on the clock read '3:50'. He wanted to groan aloud, but didn't want to wake the others.

He couldn't go back to sleep either. That stupid memory would haunt him. That Brat will never leave his memory. Nor will his past brother. Ares was a good brother though. They had met on the streets and stayed together since then. Hades didn't realize how much time past until the clock hit '5:00' and let out the most unholy screeching sound. The human in the bed next to the night stands groggily left her bed and turned the alarm off and retreated into the bathroom.

Everyone was awake now. The Baby Blue looked ready to dust someone, while the Tales and the lamia looked used to it. The adopted bitties began to get ready for the day, but Ares and the 'Lil Bro stayed in their beds. Hades sighed and shrugged. He might as well get up now. It's not like he was going back to sleep anyway. He got into some soft, fitting Bossy clothes and actually felt comfortable for once. He waited like the others until the foster human left the bathroom in a disgusting looking uniform.

"Sorry for waking you all up...again." (Y/n) mumbled. Damn, she looked absolutely dead on her feet. "If you want breakfast, climb on." She set her hands on the stands and everyone filed on. Hades had to grab Ares and sit on her shoulder. She walked carefully to the kitchen and unloaded them all off and began making them all breakfast. Everyone was too exhuasted and tired to realized the human herself didn't eat anything. She just made everyone's lunch, then her own and started packing up her purse and grabbing the lunch box.

"I'll be back a little later than usual. I'm going to be getting a few things." She gave the three bitties she adopted a kiss on the head (Hades mentally gagged at that), and left, locking the door behind her.

"Well then," Esper rose. "Let's begin with rules." Sodalite scoffed, and Ares chuckled.

"we don't need rules. we're foster bitties." Wulfenite chuckled. "we ain't gonna burn the complex down or nothin'."

"plus," Ares added. "we ain't gonna be here very long, either."

"No. I want to make sure no one tries to attack anyone." Esper sighed, rubbing his temples. "I want us to be able to get along while (Y/n) is away. She's probably getting something for the four of you after her shift. So she knows that you are with her if she ever goes out with all of us at once, for some reason."

"WHY WOULD WE ATTACK ANY OF YOU?" Sodalite snickered. "YOU THREE ARE BARELY WORTH THE LV. I WOULDN'T BOTHER WASTING SOME MAGIC ON ANY IF YOU."

"geez, you sure you're not a brassberry? 'cuz you're acting pretty sharp." Turtle grumbled, looking irritated.

"ACTUALLY, I WON'T MIND DUSTING YOU. IF IT MEANT GETTING RID OF YOUR AWFUL JOKES." Sodalite glared at Turtle, who shrank back. Esper slithered between them.

"Absolutely no dusting." Esper hissed dangerously. "If any of you attack myself or these two, I will not hesitate to use my venom."

"BUT AREN'T YOU LOYAL TO (Y/N)?" Sodalite taunted, stepping closer to Esper threateningly. "YOU WOULDN'T DISOBEY HER IF IT MENT YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE. YOU ARE ACTING LIKE HER PET!" 

"You know nothing about me." Esper responded cooly.

"HOW ABOUT YOU ALL SHUT THE FUCK UP." Hades snarled, holding his head. There was a headache blooming in his skull.

"fine." Turtle grunted. "last joke though. i swear." He grin grew. "ey soda, why did the chicken cross the road?"

"Why?" Sodalite's voice was deadly quiet.

"to get to the idiot's house." The Sansy contained a snicker. "knock knock."

"Who's There?" Soda's fists were clenched.

"the chicken."

Ares was wheezing with laughter. Hades actually chuckled, mainly because he wasn't expecting that. Sodalite had murder in his gaze.

"THAT'S IT." He summoned a bone staff and tackled Turtle viciously.

"TURTLE!" BellPepper screeched and tried to rip Soda off of his brother.

"SODALITE!" Esper bellowed and tore the Baby Blue off of Turtle. "There was no reason to attack him like that! What did I just say about that?!" Sodalite didn't answer.

"hooooly fuck!" Ares gasped for a breath, still chuckling. "that was the best laugh i've had in fuckin' years." He returned the glare Sodalite gave him with vigor. "what do we do now? these jokes ain't worth our time."

"i dunno 'bout you all. but i'm goin' back to sleep." Wulfenite hopped off the counter, and made his way back to the room.

"imma watch some tv." Ares stretched and hopped off as well. Hades followed him, not wanting to be caught alone with any of the others. He climbed up the couch with Ares, and easily used the remote as Ares got himself comfortable. They sat there for a little while. Hades had dozed off while Ares watched some crude human comedian on the TV. His mind drifted to another memory.

(Memory Begin)

Runt had been on the street for three weeks now. He was nearly starved half to death, and he was injured. He had come back for his brother, but the Brat hadn't been joking when he said he would let those dog eat him if he tried to come back. Runt winced and pressed a hand against his cracked ribs. His nonexistent stomach growled at him angrily. How long was it since he ate last? He couldn't remember. The voices that caught his attention made him furrow his brows with exhaustion.

"HONESTLY!" That sounded like another Bossy."THIS IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE!" He was snarling a someone.

"we're strays boss!" An irritated Edgy snarled back. "this is all we can eat until we get picked up again! stop bein' a prick and eat! or i'll give it to someone who won' complain 'bout it." Runt really hoped he could have some of it. He was so hungry.

"YOU WILL NOT!" The Bossy shrieked. Stars, Runt hopes he doesn't sound like that.

"fuckin' watch me." A head poked out and Runt made eye contact with a beat up looking Edgy. "ey, you want some food-" He was ripped back, and thrown across from a powerful looking Bossy. This Bossy was big, while the Edgy was very small.

"FUCKING WORTHLESS. THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE, PEST." The Bossy spat as the Edgy shakily picked himself up. "YOU KNOW WHAT. YOU CAN STAY WITH THIS BOSSY. SINCE HE LOOKS JUST AS PATHETIC AS YOU ALWAYS DO. I DON'T KNOW WHY I EVEN KEPT YOU AROUND FOR SO LONG." He stomped off, leaving behind a softly crying Edgy named Pest.

(End)

"(Y/n)!" An unfamilair voice called. When had the door unlocked? "I'm here! I brought Kronos and CherryBomb with me like you asked!"

Hades's soul stopped in his ribcage He couldn't breathe. He knew that name. But why was he here?


	15. Achievement Unlocked: Brothers

Kronos didn't even know why Atlas thought it was a good idea to visit (Y/n). Atlas had said it was okay as they loaded into their van, but Kronos had instantly thought otherwise. Something just felt...off. Which is the best way he can put it at this point.

"You can just tell Atlas instead of worrying about." Cherry Bomb said quietly as Atlas rambled about nothing. The bitties were listening, they were talking about how they and (Y/n) had met. "They won't be offended or anything that you feel sick."

"i don' feel sick." Kronos muttered back. "'s just a nervous feelin'. i'll be fine. i guess 's because me 'n esper had that show down last time we saw 'em."

"You shouldn't just brush it off like that." Cherry Bomb frowned. "Atlas will understand. We both know that."

"i'll be fine, cherryb. relax." Kronos waved it off though. "plus. i got no reason to even be nervous. esper is tiny, and (y/n) has to be the darkest kindness soul i've ever seen. we'll be fine." Kronos's mate seemed like he doubted that, but didn't question further as they continued to listen to Atlas's story. Traffic was awful, with the usual bad Ebbot drivers. It took the three of them a little longer to get to (Y/n)'s apartment than expected. Atlas had texted their friend while driving, despite CherryBomb's obvious distaste, and was slightly worried that she wasn't answering back.

"I know (Y/n)'s schedule. Don't worry." Atlas had replied breezily, but their own anxiousness was gnawing at them, similar to Kronos's and Cherry's. "She's gotta be asleep or taking care of Esper right now." Atlas persuaded themself.

When they arrived at the apartment complex, Atlas had gathered their two bitties and made their way to (Y/n)'s apartment. Their confident steps up the stairs ("Because elevators are for pussys!" Atlas had declared.) began to falter the higher they got. The closer they got to that weird feeling all of them shared.

Once Atlas got to their friend's door, they got out a key that had a little sugar skull design on it and unlocked the door. 

"(Y/n)! I'm here! I brought Kronos and CherryBomb with me like you asked!"

The first thing Kronos realized was the sheer amount of raw, threatening magic. Both he and Cherry B wheezed, the air being knocked out of their ribs as soon as Atlas walked into the suffocating apartment. They closed the door, oblivious to the thick magic warming the air. Kronos (who had to be carried by Atlas like a small child) immediately started coughing, eluding his own magic to clear up a little breathing space for him and CherryBomb.

Three small skulls whipped over to look at Kronos, one was fearful while two others were threatening.

"Uh," Atlas managed to get out, realizing that (Y/n) was no where to be seen. "(Y/n)'s here, right?" They seemed confused as they stared at a Baby Blue and a Sansy squaring up each other, and a slightly fearful looking Papy.

"She is at work." A relievingly familar voice spoke up from a little ways down the counter. "She's been gone for about two hours now." Esper seemed more confident, and much stronger looking than when he had tackled Kronos.

"Oh," Atlas seemed to shrink in on themself. "I'll, uh, just go then..." They went to leave but the Papy cried out before they could open the door.

"YOU MAY STAY UNTIL (Y/N) COMES BACK! I DO NOT THINK MYSELF AND TURTLE HAVE MET THE THREE OF YOU!" The Papy lept up and grabbed his assigned brother's turtle shell print jacket. "I'M BELLPEPPER AND THIS IS MY BROTHER TURTLE!"

Turtle broke eye contact with the Baby Blue and waved lazily. Atlas glanced from the Sansy and Baby Blue.

"I'm Atlas, (Y/n)'s best friend." They gestured to Kronos and CherryBomb. "These are my bitties Kronos and CherryBomb." Kronos grunted, not being able to seem intimidating with Atlas holding him like a baby. CherryB waved slightly at the three.

"I AM SODALITE!" The Baby Blue practically bellowed. "MY BROTHER IS STILL ASLEEP, BUT HIS NAME IS WULFENITE." Kronos was put off by how beat up Sodalite looked. He had a thin crack connecting his silver tooth to his socket, and no bright yellow stars in his dark blue eyelights. He looked older, and held himself with pride, as if he knew he could take down Kronos by himself. Just by the amounts of sheer magic rolling off Sodalite, Kronos personally didn't want to try that out.

Atlas set Kronos and Cherry B on the counter with Sodalite, Turtle, and BellPepper. Kronos towered over all of them easily, so that means he could see the TV playing some comedian he's never seen. But the thing that caught his eye was another Edgy and a Bossy watching him from afar. They would whisper to eachother every once in a while, which made Kronos's soul pulse with an old wound. His Boss's scarf was wrapped in a ball in his pocket.

This Bossy was just as small as his former brother, but he was more scuffed up. Kronos stared back at him unabashedly, not even flinching when the other Edgy had shortcutted them both in front of him.

"I AM HADES." The Bossy declared, strength radiating from his posture and voice.

"an' i'm ares." The Edgy spoke up. "ey, esper, you know there's like, three random ass people in our house, right?"

"They're not random people. I know them and (Y/n) knows them." Esper's entire posture screamed 'argue with me, and I'll dust you'. Ares merely rolled his eyes. But something nagged on the back of Kronos's mind. A memory that the Bossy-Hades-managed to dig up with out even trying. The memory of the day Kronos's old adopter told him that Kronos's brother was killed.

(Memory Begin)

Kronos woke up slowly like he usually did. But instead of waking up on, or near Kristan, his human was no where to be seen. He said up and rubbed his sockets, letting out a yawn. Tristan probably got up early for school. Too bad he can't bring Kronos with him. Kronos hopped out of the bed and made his way to the door. Maybe the Boss was awake? He always woke up early, it didn't matter if they were in a shop, or in a home. Kronos pushed past the door and looked around. 

That's when he heard a heart broken scream. It was Tristan. Kronos broke into a sprint, he barely dodged Jack's (Tristan's father) door that slammed open to get to his human. The back door was wide open and Tristan was on his knees, crying. He held something red in his tight fist.

"kid!" He yelled, running over to him and grabbing his arm. Tears streamed down the human child's face as he looked up at Kronos. "what happened?"

"B-Bonfire-" Tristan hiccuped. "He-He's dead!" The human let out a sob and wailed. Kronos froze, his soul stopping, and his marrow going ice cold. He very quickly realized the scattered dust over the porch, the chalky scent of fear, and the rancid scent of dogs. Some of the Boss's clothes were ripped up, covered in dust and dog slobber. Kronos realized that the red fabric in his human's hand was his Boss's scarf.

"Tristan!" Jack was picking up his son in a flash. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

"Mr. Claude's dogs killed Bonfire!" Tristan cried into his father's shoulder. Jack stiffened, he took in a sharp breath, staring at the dust.

He looked down at Kronos with tears in his eyes, before walking inside. Kronos stayed outside, staring at the dust. The chalky scent masked anything and everything with death, but it wasn't strong enough to cover the dogs'. He couldn't-he refused to believe that his Boss was truly gone. He went inside to see Tristan still crying, curled up into his dad's chest. Jack was...Jack was crying. Tears slipped silently down his face as he held Boss's old scarf. He looked up at Kronos, tears falling even faster now.

Kronos shortcutted onto the couch, sitting silently, letting his own tears fall. Why did it have to be Boss? Why couldn't it have been the annoying RaspBerry next door? Thoughts slammed into his mind and rushed past him. Then one stuck out, making him stop breathing. 

What kind of brother are you?

(End)

"Kronos." A welcome voice snapped him out of his daze. "Kronos, sweetheart, are you alright?" CherryBomb was hugging his arm tightly, his face smooshing against his radis.

"hey-hey cherry." He rumbled quietly, wincing at how raw his voice sounded. He tore his gaze from the Bossy and looked at his mate. "sorry. didn' mean to do that." CherryBomb just smiled at him sweetly.

"It's okay. Don't apologize." Cherry looked at Hades, and squinted slightly. "You look familiar. Have we ever met before?" The Bossy sighed.

"Unless You Were In The Ring. No, We Have Possibly Never Met." Why was his voice so quiet? Why did he look so...sad?

"Uhm, no. I wasn't in the ring." CherryBomb looked slightly uncomfortable. "But you might know me as Rhea. That was my old name." The Bossy perked up, seemingly recognizing the name.

"WE HAVE MET ONLY ONCE THEN." He stated more confidently. "YOU HAD BEEN LEFT OUT OF YOUR ENCLOSURE AND NEEDED HELP GETTING BACK IN. MY FORMER BROTHER AND I HELPED YOU GET BACK. WHY YOU WOULD GO TO AN EDGY AND BOSSY FOR HELP IS BEYOND ME THOUGH, NYEHEHEH!"

"boss?" Kronos breathed and the Bossy froze. If Hades's laugh hadn't given him away, it was that memory. Only Kronos's Boss would remember that. It was the only reason why he had chosen for Cherry to stay with him when Jack had gone to get Kronos 'replacement'. CherryBomb had reminded Kronos of Hades.

"Yes." Hades smiled up at him, looking so tired, so...worn. "I Never Thought I Would See You Again, Kronos." His voice was quiet, sadness was thick in his voice. The small Edgy beside him looked between the Bossy and Kronos.

"ohmyfuck." Kronos rushed at Hades and scooped him up, hugging him tightly. Hades yelped, and frowned harshly, before softening and rubbing the much bigger bitty's head. Kronos sat down heavily and hugged his brother, shoulders shaking softly. "i thought you were fuckin' dead." Kronos whispered. "tristan said you were dead. i s-saw the dust." He took out Hades's old scarf from an inner pocket, hiccuping slightly.

"The Brat Lied To You." Hades sneered softly. "He Hated Me. So He Got Rid Of Me." He shrugged and patted Kronos's shoulder, wanting to be put down. The giant Edgy refused. He didn't want to let go, actually. Ares tugged on Hades's shirt nervously, looking anxious.

"ey, uh, boss?" He smiled forcefully. "so this was the bro you were talking about?" He wrung his hands. "he, eheh, knows that we're bros...right?" He hunched his shoulders.

"Of...OF COURSE HE DOES!" Hades exclaimed, getting out of Kronos's grip. Hades wiped the tears from Kronos's sockets. CherryBomb rubbed the giant Edgy's back. "HE HAS ALREADY GRIEVED ME AND HAS GOTTEN OVER MY 'DEATH' WITH THIS CHERRY'S HELP."

"but, boss-" Kronos whispered out, eyelights wobbly and sockets puffy from crying. He had wiped the tears from his face at this point, and he and Ares made eye contact.

"NO." Hades interrupted him. "I AM NO LONGER YOUR ACTUAL BROTHER." Hades hugged his own arms. "I AM NO LONGER THE RUNT YOU KNEW ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. THAT RUNT DUSTED THE SECOND I WAS THROWN INTO THE RING AND DUSTED A SOFTY."

"boss-" Kronos sounded so broken. He shifted so he was on his knees.

"Kronos." The Bossy's voice was soft, he placed a hand on the Edgy's massive shoulder. "Do Not Feel Obligated To Be My Assigned Brother If You Have Already Grieved Me. You Have This Cherry, Whilst I Have Ares, Whom Knows The Horrors Of The Ring."

Kronos didn't answer. All four of them flinched when Atlas's phone began to blare some type of jarring song. They stumbled with the phone, dropping it, then scooping it up from the ground and pressing 'accept call'.

"Hey, (Y/n)!" They chirped, obviously relieved. "I'm several hours early! I had no idea that your work schedule had changed at all!" The paused for a little bit. "Uh, no. I'm actually at your house right now." Another paused. "You won't be here for another FIVE HOURS?!" Atlas exclaimed.


	16. Level Up! Mission Complete! Rest!

You hated leaving your boys alone while you went to work. But your job actually paid well, and you needed to buy somethings for your foster bitties. So now, here you are tired, half-dead, and hungry as you checked out customers. Why you had completely forgotten to eat breakfast, you had completely no idea. So you were just miserable. Jason was also here today. He hasn't even tried to talk to you since he stood you up. Which made things worse for you at the moment. You felt as if you were going to cry, but repressed the urge and smiled sweetly at the elderly couple in front of you.

"Your all settled! Thanks for coming in today!" You moved onto the next customer as they couple left. Your phone buzzed a few times, but you ignored it. Your job was a little more imortant than a phone call or text or whatever. You glanced at the clock on the opposite wall and groaned. It's only been an hour. You were going to die. And now that the store was completely empty, it was just you and Jason. Just like every other day.

You rubbed your eyes, trying to chase away any dead expression that remained. Your phone refused to stop buzzing, so with a quick look around to see if anyone was watching, you snatched up your phone. You had four missed calls from none other than Atlas. You had told them to meet up with you after your shift. You wanted them to meet all of your newest additions to your growing bitty family. You smiled softly at the thought.

You looked around again to make sure there were no customers around. There were none, and Jason was no where to be seen. So you called them back. It rang twice before Atlas picked up.

"Hey, (Y/n)!" They sighed. "I'm several hours early! I had no idea that your work schedule had changed at all!" You sighed and chuckled a little.

"That's okay, man. You can just turn around then." You suggested, thinking they were driving to your place.

"Uh, no. I'm actually at your house right now." They seemed really nervous, and they should be.

"Atlas..." You groaned playfully. "You should have checked up with my work times before just doing that." You let out a tiny laugh. "I'm not done with my shift until five hours from now."

They had obviously not been expecting that much time difference as they parroted you, sounding horrified. You gently calmed them and said a swift good-bye once you saw Jason staring at his phone, walking towards you. You hung up and shoved the phone back into your purse, the good mood you were in was immediately ruined as he looked up at you.

"Hey (Y/n)." Jason leaned on the counter in front of you. Your stomach made a queasy feeling, but you just swallowed hard and glared at him with as much hate you could muster at this point.

"Yes, Jason?" You asked, voice cold and hard. He had enough decency to wince, and scratch the back of his head.

"Sorry about...a couple of days ago..." He mumbled, playing with his name tag. He kept making that annoying clicking sound with his teeth that made you want to punch something.

"Oh no. It's alright." You answered stiffly. "I know I'm pretty bad, but at least say it to my face next time."

"No, I'm sorry for leading you on." Jason mumbled. "I needed a reason to go to Muffet's to meet up with my boyfriend in secret."

You opened an closed your mouth. "You could have just told me what you were doing?" You snarled when your voice returned. "I would have helped you. Instead you just embarrass me in front of a whole shop and just leave me there without even saying good bye!?" You were seething, but you kept your voice low.

"I panicked, okay?" Jason rubbed his face. "I wanted to ask you to hang out, but I worded it weird. Sorry." He looked at the ground, looking guilty.

"And you couldn't have been bothered to tell me?" You asked, disbelievingly.

"Well...I thought you wouldn't care. Not as much as you did." You could feel his bitties staring at the two of you.

"Why would you do that anyways? That such a shitty thing to do!"

"Wait, that's a bad way to say it." He rubbed his eyes, starting to look irritated.

"Yeah that's a bad way to say it!" You grit your teeth. "Why would you even think that's a good thing to say? How did you even come up with the idea to just ditch me like that?!" You threw up your hands, exasperated and exhausted.

"I said sorry! What more do you fucking want? Jesus Christ!" Jason finally snapped.

"I want you to know ditching someone, whether it be a date or hang out is rude and horrible!" You released the stress he had caused right back in his face.

"You know what." He spat. "I don't want to continue this any more. Fuck off."

You smiled at him. "Well then," You muse, voice frigid. "The same goes for you." You placed a hand ever so gently on the counter in front of you. You leaned forward, all of your muscles tense, ready for anything.

"If you even go near me-" He hissed, mimicking your quieter tone.

"I won't have to." You hissed back. You stepped from out behind the cash register very quickly, making Jason stumble back with barely contained rage. You ripped off your apron and leaned into the back door.

"Mrs. Scotty?" You called.

"Yes dear?" A soft, but confident voice answered.

"I'm going to be taking the rest of the day off. I swear I'll make it up tomorrow." You replied. Mrs. Scotty, or Jenny, strode up from the back room and smiled at you shaking her hand with a chuckle. Her greying, deep black hair bobbed with her head.

"You need the break, (Y/n)." She crossed her arms. "I'll be fine with just Jason, don't worry."

You nodded and went to the break room, grabbed the rest of your items, snatched your purse from where you once stood, and threw yourself out of there as fast as possible. You shot Atlas a text your going back home as you rushed to your car. You hopped in, put the seat belt on and whipped out of the parking lot, and drove home barely breaking the speed limit.

The adrenaline from agruing with Jason was beginning to wear off, as well as the confidence cover that you used while insulting him. But now his insults were crystal clear and began to bite at old wounds like acid. Your eyes burned and you hated it. You rubbed your eyes roughly as you pulled into your parking spot and got out of your car. You made your way into the complex, trying to not cry in front of neighbors and random people.

"Look mommy!" One little boy called. "It's the crazy bitty lady!" You made eye contact with the child and his mother, who gasped.

"Adam!" She scolded, but you were already gone. 

Crazy bitty lady. You mused to yourself, allowing a tiny smile bloom on your lips. That has a nice ring to it.

You ran to your apartment with no shame what so ever, unlocked it and flung it open. You closed it, locked it, and immediately went to the couch to flop on it.

"(Y/n)?" The most welcoming voice said your name. You glaced up to see Esper looking at you, confusion and worry on his face. You recongized the deep purple bags under his eye socket and dragged him closer to you, wanting to cuddle.

"Hey, Esp." You mumbled, hugging your lamia closer to you. He melted into you, in need of serious affection.

"Are you okay?" He asked, hanging onto the hem of your shirt, leaning into your touch as you pet him.

"Never been better." You smiled at him, exhaustion clear. "Where's Atlas? And everyone else?"

"Atlas just took Kronos and Hades to the guest bedroom, Sodalite went to wake up Wulfenite. Ares disappeared a few minutes ago." Esper listed off, sounding just as drained as you felt.

"Turtle and BellPepper?" You mumbled.

"right here kiddo." You turned your head to see Turtle and BellPepper standing near you. "you look a little under the weather, kid. why so blue?" He was holding a blueberry that seemingly came out of no where.

"Turtle!" BellPepper scolded. "(Y/n) Is In No Need Of Your Awful Puns!" 

"FOR ONCE THE CREAMPUFF IS CORRECT." Sodalite boomed right next to your ear. You flinched and curled in on yourself slightly.

"i thought it was pretty snakey." Wulfenite mused, glancing at Esper.

"WULF!" Sodalite bellowed. "THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN JOIN IN ON IT."

"Soda, sweetheart, honey." You streched out and scooped the Tale and Swap bitties and pressed them softly into your stomach. "I'm too tired to deal with your pompous ass default setting. So could you just relax for an hour or two before going back?" Soda was just as surprised as everyone else at your tired mumble. He gaped like a fish out of water, but you missed how his eyelights wobbled slightly. You were asleep within the next five minutes, but you remembered how Soda and Wulf snuggled into your belly.

You woke up feeling slightly more refreshed, but then again, still dead. You felt two more warm masses on your neck. You looked down and saw the adorable bitty pile on your belly. Turtle was on the very bottom, with Wulf on top of him, then BellPepper, then Sodalite. Esper had some how managed to migrate from your arms to your upper chest. So you thought it was safe to assume it was your Fells on your neck.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty." Atlas chuckled, glancing at you. You smiled and gave them a lazy wave.

"Hey." Your voice was thick with sleepiness.

"I saw how hard you crashed, so I picked up some Chinese takeout. I already gave your boys some food, so they're fine." They smiled, petting their own bitties as they watched the tv, which was playing 'Coraline' quietly.

"Thanks Atlas." You mumbled. "You're the absolute best, bro."

Atlas snickered and passed you an opened water bottle. "Of course I am." You sipped from the water gratefully and set it down, exhuastion weighing you down again.

"'m really tired." You mumbled, eyes fluttering in vain to stay awake.

"Then go to sleep before you crash again you idiot." Atlas sighed and patted your head. You smiled at them and patted their hand before going back to your bitties and petting them lovingly on the head.

Sodalite had sighed and followed your finger as you lifted it away. Wulfenite purred in that broken voice of his, sounding happier than he did in his time here. Turtle's and BellPepper's reaction was similar to eachothers. They both sighed and nuzzled closer to you, reveling in your warmth. Esper had clung to your finger, he no longer had deep violet bags under his eyes, and was smiling in his sleep. You petted both Ares and Hades at the same time, and they both started purring aggresively. Ares leaned into your hand and Hades nuzzled your palm.

Your soul swelled with warmth and love for your boys. You slowly slipped into sleep, feeling content.


	17. Mission: Halloween Costumes

"CAN YOU EXPLAIN HALLOWEEN AGAIN?" Sodalite asked from the counter. 

You glanced at him, then back at the pan simmering on the stove. "Uh, sure. Halloween is-or was- the celebration of the dead. People celebrate it today for an entirely different reason now. What we do now is dress up in costumes and go around asking for candy." You stirred the gravy. "I want to take you all Halloween shopping tomorrow, since it's my day off."

"I AM NOT GOING TO BE BEGGING RANDOM HUMANS AND MONSTERS FOR CANDY." Sodalite huffed softly. You just chuckled and bent down to check on the biscuts in the oven. Man did you love breakfast for dinner.

"We're just going to be costume shopping, Soda." You mused. "We'll be going to Atlas's house Friday to give out candy. I want you all to look great." A few days have past since your run in with Jason, and he hasn't spoken to you since. Thank God. But you've been so busy this month, you forgot about Halloween, one of the greatest holidays of the year!

"DO WE HAVE TO DRESS UP LIKE CHILDREN?" Sodalite asked, sounding irritated, but not demanding. Wow, he's let up a lot since your cuddle session all those days ago.

"No. But give it a try before saying you don't want to do it." You whisked the gravy one last time before handing the whisk to Soda, who licked it happily. "Dinner time!" You call, and hear the sounds of your bitties scrambling to get to the counter first. You began dishing everyone up, gave Soda his plate and set the rest of them around the counter.

Dinner went as smoothly as usual, despite Ares and BellPepper getting to the same plate at the same time. They didn't fight (you didn't like the blank stare Turtle had given Ares), and BellPepper seemed to have won the staring contest because the Edgy was pouting as he ate his own food.

You munched on your own food happily as your boys chowed down. Your mind began to wander a little. Maybe you all could relax and watch 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'? Or something else? You've never been one for horror movies, so that was knocked off quickly. You finished your food and began cleaning up the mess you had made, still thinking. You were so deep in thought you didn't hear your boys trying to get your attention. Welll, until Hades threw a harmless bone attack at your head. You jumped and whipped around to look at them, eyes wide. They were all snickering to themselves.

"yer talkin' to yerself, human." Ares grinned, and you blushed looking away from them.

"Um, sorry about that." You hunched your shoulders as you put your plate in the dishwasher. "Living alone for four years can do things to a person, y'know?" You let out a nervous giggle, and glanced at them. Hades seemed to understand, because he softly patted Ares back. A gesture you didn't fully understand. And Esper, who nodded and looked up at you with an understanding expression. The others had brothers they could go to.

"so what's 'the nightmare before christmas'?" Ares asked, skillfully changing the subject.

"probably the best boneifide movie." Wulfenite chuckled, washing everyone else' plates at the bitty sink. "me 'n soda would watch it all the time with an old adopter. it was his favorite movie." Wulfenite smiled, but he held such sadness at the memory.

"not trying to drill it into everyone's skull," Turtle spoke up. "but it's a pretty great movie. we should watch it." You smiled at the puns the two laid back bitties made. The only ones who seem like they have never heard of the movie was Ares and Hades.

"Alright then." You chirped, finishing up cleaning. "Looks like we're going to be watching 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' tonight!" You beamed at them and jogged over to the tv. You were absolutely positive Netflix had it. You searched it and lo and behold, there it was. You pressed on it and hopped over the couch to get your boys. They all seemed content and happy about the movie watching. You gathered them all up with a grin and set them down on the couch. They had made a little nest for those who wanted to sit in it. But most of the time, you were the main bitty cushion.

As everyone got settled, you petted Esper, who had managed to get onto your shoulders before anyone else did. You pressed play as soon as everyone gave you the thumbs up.

...You didn't even last twenty minutes. God, you were turning out like your dad. You woke up when you felt a sharp pain on your left hand, it made you wince and groan as you sat up. The credits were rolling, and everyone had migrated over to you, and was all nearly asleep, or already asleep. And Ares was latched to your now very sore hand.

"Arrreeess." You whined, shaking your hand limply, trying to get him off. He let go and huffed.

" 's over now. i want to go to bed." He muttered, rubbing his eyes, as if he had just woken up as well. You muttered something under your breath in agreement and began to gently gather everyone up and make your way back to your room.

You softly dumped everyone on your bed, and climbed in. You snuggled all of your boys (who all had moved to get more comfortable), not even processing that your Fells and Swaps were sleeping with you.

You woke up so serenely, it was surprising how refreshed you felt. You felt multiple small masses on your body, and made sure to not move. You smiled and let out a content sigh. Your hand was pulsing slightly, probably from when Ares bit you from last night. You most likely needed to clean it or something, but it was your day off and you wanted to stay in bed as long as possible. Or, as long as reasonably possible.

You finally began to peal bitties off of you as your bladder protested angrily. You really were beginning to hate bodily processes if they kept getting in your way like this. You wanted to cuddle your boys, damn it. But you had to get up at some point. Today was costume hunting day, and you wanted everyone to get the best ones they could find. So you snatched a quick outfit before disappearing into the bathroom.

When you left the bathroom, you saw everyone already in clothes, but spread generously around the bed. Esper was flopped in the dent you had made in it, while Ares was on your pillow once more. The others were either on the edge, or curled up near the wall.

"Alright everyone." You mumbled loud enough for them to hear. "Let's get some breakfast and get rolling." The boys heard and migrated over to you, crawling into your rather warm arms. You let out a tired giggle and started to the kitchen. You still had left overs from last night's breakfast/dinner, so you decided everyone, including yourself, would eat that.

You unloaded each bitty pair in their respective spots on the counter, and left Esper chilling on your shoulders. You heated up the biscuts and gravy and began distributing it evenly. You laughed lightly at how Esper weakly protested when you pulled him off you so he could eat. Everyone ate in silence, which was quite nice, actually. You finished first and put your plate in the sink, then excused yourself to the bathroom to brush your teeth.

When you returned, you snatched up your phone and purse and loaded up the bitties and left your apartment, locking it firmly behind you. You sped walked to your car and got in. Esper and your Tales got onto the dashboard while the Fells and Swaps got onto the passenger side seat. You pulled out of your parking spot and began making your way to the biggest bitty shop in Ebbot. Bitty Babies Central.

"Have you guys figured out what you want to be for Halloween?" You chirped happily.

"i was thinking 'bout bein' donatello." Turtle spoke up, grinning. "i don't want to be a stick in the mud, but bein' a turtle ain't as slow as you think." A chorus of groans and chuckles met your ears at the puns.

"I WANT TO BE JACK SKELLINGTON." Hades declared, putting his hands on his hips, and puffing out his chest. "HE IS THE ONLY ONE FIT ENOUGH FOR ME TO BECOME."

"I WISH TO BE A KNIGHT!" BellPepper burst out as soon as Hades had stopped talking. "KNIGHTS ARE HEROIC AND JUST! SO I WANT TO BE ONE!"

"I WILL BE A KING THEN." Sodalite huffed, glaring at BellPepper as if the Papy had stolen his idea. "KINGS ARE RULERS, AND I WOULD BE A GREAT ONE! MWEHEHEH!" You melted a little on the inside. That was the first time Sodalite has ever truly laughed while in your care. You smiled and realxed more at the sound.

"i'll just be a werewulf-enite." Wulfenite chuckled from where he lounged. He winked at Soda, who glared at him as you snickered.

"What about you, Ares?" You looked at the Edgy when you realized that he was the only one that hasn't said anything yet.

"i dunno." He grumbled, scratching his skull with a thoughtful expression. "i guess i'll just dress up as the greek god you named me after." He grinned sharply at you, and you nodded.

"I WANT TO CHANGE MY MIND." Hades practically screeched after Ares stopped talking. "I WANT TO BE THE GOD OF DEATH INSTEAD!" He smirked at Sodalite smugly and you laughed.

"Alright then, it's all settled and who is who?" You got several loud agreements and a few low murmurs. "Alright then, Esper and I will probably have a matching costume then." You glanced at your lamia and he nodded.

"I was thinking about being a cup o' noodles. And you could be the college student." He eyelight twinkled as he pushed up his glasses. You let out a surprisingly loud laugh at that and covered your mouth.

"Oh my God!" You managed to get out. "That's perfect! The noodle being noodles!" You grinned broadly.

You began to chat with the bitties after that, trying to pass the time. The bitty shop you were going to was a ways away from your apartment complex, so it took a while to drive out there. Thankfully, the roads were mostly clear, so it wasn't as long as it could have been.

Once you finally caught sight of the giant shop itself, you were pleased to see it was nearly empty. Very few cars littered the parking lot. You managed to get a front parking spot and loaded all of your boys in your arms. You jogged to the doors and nodded to the people who held it open for you. It's nice when you find people like that in the city.

You found the bitty costume section to your immediate left, and saw each aisle had a different bitty species for the costumes. There were full costumes, and mix and matches. Some were glittery, some even made your face flush. Those were probably for Lust Bitties. Once you found the 'general' aisle, you put everyone down and placed your hand on your hips.

"Alright everyone," Your smile brightened. "Game plan. So here is what we're going to do." You clasped your hands together, making sure you had all of your boys' attention. "I am going to help each of you get everything put together. Some of you will be easier than most. Turtle, Wulfenite, Esper, and BellPepper. We can most likely find sets of your costumes in you bitty type aisle. The rest of you however, Ares, Hades, and Sodalite. We'll have to mix and match to see what you all like."

"DO YOU WANT US TO ROAM AROUND OUR TYPE AISLES?" BellPepper asked. You shook your head and patted his head softly.

"Sorry Pep. But this place is too big and I don't want any of you getting snatched up if your alone. Let's begin with those who will have set costumes, then we can go back here and mix and match everyone else's." You replied. Your boys nodded, understanding your concern. Then the hunt was on.

Esper's costume was the first to be food. Which was rather surprising, and also not surprising since you found it in the lamia aisle. But instead of a cheap ramen noodle looking package, he wore a Chinese take out box. He immediately fell in love with it and you all were quickly off to the next costume.

BellPepper's and Turtle's costumes were found next. Turtle had seen the Ninja Turtle costume as you had browsed through the Papy clothes. It had just been laying on the rack, abandoned. You were lucky and relieved to find it was Donatello. Wulfenite's was also easy to find. It was in the Papy section as well. He had just shrugged and grabbed it anyway, not really caring where it was from. He wanted to live out his pun. And you were going to fully support him on that.

Now it was time for the mix and match. Both Ares and Hades wanted to do the Ancient Greece style for their respective gods. Sodalite decided to become a Greek king for simplicity of it. So everyone got to work. Esper had a good eye for colors, while Wulfenite was rather good at finding what fit who, and what were should go what. Everyone else brought back draping cloths of varying shades of red, black, and grey. Sodalite was finished first out of the three. His costume was white and silver, with a silver olive branch like crown. He had grinned so much that he had rubbed his cheeks when he though no one was watching.

Soon enough, Ares and Hades were fully clothed in Greek like apparel. The both had their respective god's weapon, and both looked extremely menacing. Well...not anymore. They were both blushing like school girls when you cooed how great they looked.

"Okay," Everyone looked at you, each bitty holding his own costume. "Let's check out and buy some candy!"


	18. Mission Complete! Quest: Halloween

The days went by like molasses. It was so slow that you genuinely thought that it was your lunch break twice. On the same day. You were tired, you hated dealing with people at this point, and Jason thought it was a good idea to send every goddamn Karen your way. You had to deal with bratty adult, whether it be a mom, dad, or grandparent. You were slightly happy that Esper didn't want to go with you. Which worried you, but he just said he was feeling a little sick. And your worry made everything feel even longer.

You forced your smile as this particular Betty's crotch goblin was screeching for candy. She ignored him to screech at you for 'faulty products'. You wrinkled your nose slightly at her and shook your head.

"Ma'am." You sighed, once she need to stop to breath. "This product isn't 'faulty'." You rubbed you temples with your left hand, and stared at the badly dented can of Green Giant's Green Beans. "I watched your child take this off the shelf and throw it on the ground." Like the little brat he is. Your mind muttered bitterly.

You stole a glance at the clock behind the rapidly reddening woman, and nearly collasped with relief. Five more minutes. You could leave in five more minutes. You just had to deal with this head ache for five more damn minutes. Then you can help Esper feel better. You wondered in the not irritated part of your mind that the take out from last night may have given your lamia food posioning.

"How dare you accuse my child of doing that!" The woman hissed hatefully at you. "I raised my child better than you! My son is a little angel." Lies, all of it. Your eye twitched and you plucked the can out of her hand. She let out a feral like snarl, and you moved back before she could bite you. You examined the can and shivered as liquid from the green beans leaked onto your hand.

"Ma'am. You are going to have to pay for this since your kid broke it." You said in your best customer service voice. You clenched your jaw as she shook her head.

"My son didn't do this! It was your own stupid fault! I want to talk to your manager." Ah, yes. You saw this coming.

"She's not here right now."

"Then give me her phone number!"

You looked up at the clock and actually felt your eyes tear up. Thank god. Your shift was over. Your shoulders relaxed and you let out a sigh. "Ma'am. It is a single can of green beans. It is third of an actual can. It is literally ninety cents." Which is more sense then you'll ever have. Your brain spat out again. With that, you turned on your heel and huslted to the backroom. 

"Where do you think you're going!" Betty screeched in an unholy voice. Oh god, why do all the shitty customers always go to you again? Wait, nevermind, you remember now. Fucking Jason.

"My shift is over!" You squeaked back, running to the door now. You ripped it open, surprising two other coworkers, and bolted to your locker.

"Which one did you get today?" Hugh, the coworker that usually takes your spot.

"A Betty." You wheezed, practically ripping everything out of your locker. "She screamed at me for twenty minutes about something her perfect angel did." Hugh groaned, as well as Melissa, who usually takes Jason' spot.

"Those are the worst." Melissa sighed and Hugh nodded solemnly at you. You gave them both a sheepish smile. Their faces fell even more.

"She's still out there." You scrunched in on your self and they both looked like they want to cry.

"Aight then." Melissa moved her thick, frizzy black hair out of her face and put it in an impossibly tight bun. "We are going to sneak you outta here then. I'll help you get away, while Hugh takes on the bull."

"Why do I have to?!" Hugh stands up, looking offended and slightly terrified for his life. Good, he should be.

"Because you look like a pushover. She'll think she can put something past you. I know you're too stubborn to let that happen." Melissa retorted, standing up as well, and walking over to you. She was right though. Hugh was only a little taller than your 5'4" stature, and was the softest looking person you have ever seen. Not body wise, just everything about him screamed marshmellow. Even if he was far from that.

Melissa was nearly a head shorter than you, so she got around easier without getting caught by entitled parents too. Plus, she tended to stay in the darkest parts of the shop were she can blend in. Her deep chocolate skin could melt into darkness. You felt a little jealous she could disappear so easily, and you could not. But now was the time to escape.

"Hugh, you go out first and I'll make sure (Y/n) is a bat in the night." Melissa pushed Hugh out. You and her winced when you heard the woman's voice. Hugh had mastered the the stutter, so they were both talking.

"Alright, girly." Melissa looked at you with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's get you out of here. I bet you want to go get candy for tonight."

"I already have candy for Friday." You reply, slightly confused. Melissa just stared at you.

"(Y/n)." She said slowly. "Today is Friday."

You stared at her with wide eyes, and mental recounted your days. Hot damn. Today is Friday. Today is Halloween! Yor mouth hung open for a few seconds before you closed it and nodded to yourself.

"W-We," You cringed at the crack in your voice. "Should get going. Who knows how long Hugh will hold off the Betty."

"Rrrright." Melissa turned away from you and causally opened the break room door. Hugh had some how managed to get the very angry woman to the shelves were the green beans were, which was far out of the way. Her gremlin of a child was off playing with jugs of milk on the far side of the store, so you had the perfect opening to bolt for it.

"I'm gonna run." You hissed as you and your coworker stepped out of the breakroom.

"No," She hissed back. "Wait until you get half way there, then run. She can't catch you fast enough if your too close to the door." You nodded and began walking. Melissa walked off to another part of the store to seem normal.

Just as you were about to run (once you reached the midway point), you heard what could have been mistaken for a demon coming for your soul.

"YOU!" The Betty bellowed. From what it sounded like, she shoved Hugh away, who let out a surprised cry, and started running for you. But you were far younger and faster than the banshee coming at you. You barreled through the door, hurled yourself into your car and locked all the doors before trying to get the fuck outta that parking lot. Thanking whatever deity that had just cursed you that today was a slow day.

You got out of the parking lot just in time and sped off. You could hear the hag screaming after you like an insane person. You slowly relaxed into your seat, your tense muscles deflating. Your head pounded though, and you felt slightly jittery from the rush of adrenaline. But you were ready for tonight at Atlas's house. You were going to be watching every good Halloween movie there is. You looked forward to watching The Adams' Family.

You pulled into your usual parking space and got out, locking your car as you left it. You rubbed your eyes and yawned. You smiled sleepily to yourself, thinking about your 'sleep deprived college student' costume, and how much you must look the part. You sluggishly made your way to your apartment and unlocked the door. You went into your home, locked the door behind you and went to do a head count of your boys.

Sodalite and BellPepper were both on the training set you had gotten for then a few days ago. Ares and Wulfenite were on the couch with Ares asleep, and Wulfenite reading 'Teeth In The Mist' (a warm feeling bubbled up in your chest when you realized the book was taller and thicker than the 'Lil Bro was). Four counted for, three to go. You poked your head into your room and only saw Turtle napping on your pillow. You left him be and checked your guest bedroom. You heard Hades and Esper talking in there, and wondered what they were talking about. Everyone was acounted for, but you were curious about what they were saying to eachother.

You silently pressed your ear again the slightly cracked door. You felt kinda bad about eavesdropping, but everyone did it anyway.

"Have You Ever Tried To Bring Them Up?" Was Hades' quiet response to what ever Esper had said. The lamia mumbled something you couldn't make out. "And? Pester Her About It! If Her Past Partner Smells This Awful After Years Of Being Gone, Then They Have Done Something Horrible To Our Human."

"I know what they have done as well." Esper replied, voice lower and harder to listen to. "She is touch starved. She hates being alone just as much as I do. She gets anxious and overly worried about the smallest things. Who ever the partner before Jason was hurt her. And Jason didn't help." Esper's voice sounded stronger than from this morning, which was a relief. But he also sounded like he wanted to murder your coworker.

"When Was This?" Hades asked darkly.

"Just before Ethyl called her about you four." Esper responded, voice just as bitter. "I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to date again because of him."

"ooooh, (y/n)." Wulfenite's voice made you leap backwards. You stopped yourself from yelping, and ran into your room to get into you 'costume'. You quickly got change, not bothering to go into your bathroom, and opened the door when you were done. Wulf was leaning against the threshold, looking content. "were you spyin' on-" He began with a mischevious glint in his eyesockets.

"Shhh!" You cut him off and put a finger to your lips. "Shhhh!"

"only if you gimme a kiss."

You turned to look at the bitty with your eyes and mouth hung open. Your face flush slightly and you looked behind you to look at Turtle, who was still asleep. But his face was a very light shade of blue.

"Fine. But I give you guys kisses all the time!" You huffed and turned back around to pick him up. Wulf just shrugged and relaxed when you softly kissed his head. He hummed happily and you rolled your eyes, then rubbed his head with your thumb. "You're such a goofball." You sighed. He opened his eyes and winked at you, making you blush again. "We all need to get in our costumes." You cleared your throat. "We'll be leaving for Atlas's here soon. Go tell the others in the living room." He gave you a lazy salute and shortcutted off your hand, making his way out of your room.

You turned back to Turtle, who was still on your pillow. You sat down heavily on your bed, and rubbed Turtle's head lovingly.

"hmm?" The Sansy hummed tiredly and opened his eyesockets to look at you. "is somethin' wrong, (y/n)?" He asked tiredly, a light blushing making his face glow slightly.

"Nope." You closed your eyes for a few moments, then opened them. "We all need to start getting in costumes. Atlas's expecting us at their place around dinner time. Okay?" Turtle nodded, understanding you and got up to put on his Ninja Turtle costume. You left the room as he changed and knocked on the guest bedroom door. Hades and Esper both stopped talking.

"Time to get ready to go you two." You pushed the door open to see the two very different bitties talking to eachother. Hades nodded and hopped off the bed. He walked to your room without hesitation and you went to pick up Esper. You pressed a kiss to his head and held him close to your chest.

"Are you feeling any better, Esp?" You whispered.

"I've been better." He admitted with a shrug. He shivered slightly and curled into a soft ball. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you still want to go to Atlas's?"

"Yes, of course I do!" Esper said with a panicked tone, and clutched your thumb tightly.

"Okay, you can still go. I just don't want you to feel awful while we're there." You petted him soothingly, trying to reassure him. "I'm not gonna leave you here." You cooed, and walked into your room.

Nearly everyone had their costumes on. Wulfenite was helping Sodalite, while Ares helped Hades with his robes. Ares already had all of his robes on correctly, and was even wearing the sandles he had chosen. You set Esper down and gave him the soft Chinese take-out looking box costume, and gave it to him. Esper climbed into it, and made himself at home. You placed the chop sticks beside him for a better effect.

You looked down at everyone and nodded. "We ready to go?" You chirped. You got a chorus of agreements, and everyone piled on. It was a struggle getting out of the apartment with your arms full of candy, movies, snacks, and bitties. But you still managed to get to your car without any accidents. You got into your car, shot Atlas a quick text and started up the car. You grinned at your bitties as you buckled up. You pulled out of the parking spot and made your way over to their house.

The car ride was full of joking and laughing. Ares had gotten into the candy bag, you were struggling to breathe as Hades and BellPepper tried to pull him out. You wheezed gleefully, as you parked, you felt so relaxed. And that warm feeling in your chest when you got home has increased. You felt like you were melting with admiration for your boys.

"Alright. Let's go see what Atlas has for us!" You smiled broadly, gathering everyone up. You wobbled to the front door and kick it with your foot a few times. There was a scrambling sound, then Atlas ripped the door open. They looked at you and laughed.

"Are you okay?" They chuckled, practically dragging you into their home. "It looks like your going to drop dead."

"That's the point dear old friend!" You chirped and handed them all the candy and snacks then moved to the couch with your boys and the movies. You set the movies all down as your boys slid off of your shoulders and arms. Hades saw Kronos and practically dragged Ares along with him.

BellPepper was talking to Cherry Bomb, who was dressed up as what you assumed to be Life. Mainly because Kronos looked like he was death. You smiled as Hades showed Ares off to his former assigned brother. Everyone else stuck close to you until Atlas came back. Their hair were a variety of different colors, and they looked rather feminine today with their witch costume.

"Going back to high school I see!" You joked and they pointed at you with playful warning.

"Do not remind me of that time of my life!" They crowed, and fluffed up the feather boa around their neck.

"Pffft, keep acting like that and I'll bring back junior year and when you dated-"

Atlas uscreech laughed and flung their hands to cover your mouth. You just did the next best thing to free yourself. You licked their hand with the flat of your tongue. They didn't move, but they did lean down next to your ear.

"Kinky." They grinned at you and wiggled their eyebrows. You let out a surprised laugh and ducked your head to make them let go. Your bitties watched you two mess around with amusement. Atlas put on the first movie, The NightMare Before Christmas, and you dished out snacks for everyone. You both took turns on giving out candy. You both had a max of two bitties on you as you gave away candy. Both kids and parents were sweet. And the costumes were amazing!

You all had just started the Adams' Family when the door bell rang. It was your turn, so you stood up, stretched and looked down at the bitties to see if any body wanted to go with. Turtle stood up and made a hand grabby gesture. You grinned and rolled your eyes. You picked him up and put him on your shoulder and went to open the door. You opened the door and was greeted with a bunch of 'Trick or Treat!'

"Happy Halloween!" You chirped and began giving out candy to three other Ninja Turtles. There was Raph, Leo, and Mikey all on your door step. "Those are such good costumes!" You said happily.

"Thanks!" The kid dressed up as Mikey turned to grin at his guardian.

"Wait a sec." The one dress up as Leo looked closer at Turtle. "Um, is your bitty Donny?" He asked.

"Ask him that." You replied and held Turtle out for them to see.

"yeah. i'm ol' donny." Turtle scratched his skull awkwardly. "is somethin' wrong? don't tur-tell me that my staff is missing."

"Daddy!" The Mikey one called. "This Sansy bitty is Donny!" You were just as confused as Turtle is. They were all staring at Turtle, and one of them was...crying?! The one dressed up as Raph was sniffling, and hiccuping slightly.

"Um?" You looked at Turtle worriedly and looked at the kids' Dad, who bent down to console his son. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes. Everything fine." The father looked at Turtle with sad eyea. "Their little sister wanted to be Donny, but she's in the hosptial right now." He rubbed the Raph's back soothingly.

"Can we take a picture with you?" The Leo one asked Turtle. "Lilith really wanted to come with us, but she's really sick and could walk around with us." Turtle nodded, and they all huddled near you as the dad took a picture of his sons, you, and Turtle.

"Thank you so much for that." He mumbled to you and your bitty.

"hey, anything for fellow turtles." Turtle smiled easily and the little family walked away. You gave candy to the crowd that had gathered around afther them. You smiled at each of them. But you knew those three boys were the highlight of your night.


	19. Quest Complete! New Quest: Family Crisis

You woke up with a killer head ache. You scrunched your face up and rolled your head slightly. Oof, your neck felt like someone had filed it. It felt awful and highly uncomfortable. But you couldn't move, mainly because all of your bitties were on every surface of your body. Esper was coiled protectively around your neck with BellPepper and Sodalite on each shoulder. Ares looked so smug in his sleep because he was burrowed in between your boobs, you only rolled your eyes at him. Hades, Wulfenite, and Turtle were all scattered around your stomach and lap. You really wanted to get up, but you all had stayed up pretty late last night.

You let out a jaw cracking yawn and sigh. Jeez, you forgot all about how fun it was to be a kid again. After you and Atlas had stopped handing candy out, you messed around a whole lot. You both played pranks on eachother, and save your bitties from the other's attacks. You haven't laughed so hard in months. It felt nice. You looked out the closest window and blinked slightly in surprise. The sun hasn't even risen yet! What time was it? You turned your head to see the clock on Atlas's TV stand. 

1:15 AM

You nearly groaned at the ungodly hour, there is no way in hell you were waking up your boys now, they probably just fell asleep. But your body woke you up for a reason, and that reason was because it was in pain. You tried to shuffle yourself so that no one fell off of you. You spread out on the couch (since Atlas was passed out on the love seat across from you), and laid down. BellPepper and Soda both roused slightly, but fell back asleep if they woke up. You closed your eyes once more, easily falling asleep.

"OH SHE'S SWEET BUT A PYSCHO, JUST LITTLE BIT PYSCHO-" A ringtone blasted in your ear, making you jerk awake and fling yourself off the couch. You scrambled up and balled your fists, looking around ready to fight. You spun around to see Ares holding your phone laughing into his hand, and Wulfenite short cutting away so he wasn't caught like his partner in crime.

"Is someone calling me?" You ask, confused. You had adrenaline pumping through your veins, but you still had sleep fogging your brain.

"snrk-y-yeah," Ares maganged to get out as he snickered. You gave a tired chuckle and gently took the phone from your Edgy. You pressed on the accept call and flopped on the couch, rubbing Ares' head softly.

"Hello?" You smiled slightly as Ares purred lowly, almost too lowly for you to hear. You're glad he finally came around to you.

"(Y/n)." You stilled and sat up straighter when you heard your dad's voice.

"Dad? What's wrong? Why are you calling me at," You looked at the clock. "7 in the morning?"

"It's your mom." He sighed, sounding distressed. "She got in a car crash while coming back from taking Karma and Orion to school. She's in the hospital right now, but she hasn't woken up yet." You felt your throat tighten up and your heart skip a beat.

"Is she in critical condition? Will she be okay?" You rubbed your face, hand shaking. "Do you need me to come over there and help with Karma and Orion?" 

"Yes, please. I hope it won't be any trouble."

"Of course it won't. How much time do I need to take off?"

"Two weeks. She'll be better within two weeks I know it." Your dad said in a shaky sigh.

"Great. I'm leaving tomorrow then." You stood up and began putting your shoes on.

"Y-You don't have to leave now-" He spluttered.

"Pfft, yes I do. I want to help. You need the help. So I'm going. I hope you don't mind if I bring my bitties." You turned your head to look at Ares, who had a confused expression. He looked slightly worried as well, but you couldn't be sure.

"Well, I don't mind. Thank so much (Y/n). See you then. I love you." Your dad seemed a lot less stressed.

"I love you too, Dad. See you later." You ended the call and finished tying your shoes. When you turned back around, all of your bitties have seemed to join him.

"What's wrong, (Y/n)?" Esper asked quietly, slithering past everyone else. You let out a shuddering sigh and sat down beside him, letting him pull himself into your lap. Everyone else crowded around your legs, but not touching you.

"My mom got in an accident." You let in a deep breath to steady yourself. "She hasn't woken up yet, and has a whole bunch of injuries, I'm sure. We are going to their house to help take care of my younger siblings, Karma and Orion." You were ten years older than Karma, and twelve years older than Orion. So they stood at 14 and 12. While they were moderately mature, they would still need help with chores and cleaning, as well as food.

"ARE ALL OF US GOING?" BellPepper asked, nervously tugging at the fingers of his gloves.

"Yeah, we're all going. I'm not leaving anyone alone." Yout petted the Papy's head. "But we do need to start packing, and cleaning. I think I bought cases for you all, but I'm not sure. So I'll have to look at that." You began to gather all of your belongings as well as all of the boys costumes from last night.

"(Y/n)?" Atlas asked, confused. You turned your head to look at them. "You know you can stay for a little longer. Just to...you know...let it sink in? So your not running on fumes and anxiety." They sat down next you you and rubbed your back.

You had tried to not cry, but Atlas was so comforting, and your bitties were all laying on you, it was hard not too. Anxiety about your mom not being able to pull through made you terrified. Your relationship with her had ups and downs, but you couldn't imagine life without her nice texts to stay healthy every once in a while. You cried silently in the comfort of your friend's home. Atlas didn't say anything, they didn't really need to. You just leaned on them and they comforted you. Your bitties all looked up at you in worry. The thought popped into your head that your Swap and Fell boys have never seen you cry.

Once you calmed down you realized that even Kronos and CherryBomb looked up at you with worry. You smiled at the bitties and Atlas, before sitting up and wiping your eyes. "Thank you, guys." You mumble and relax for the first time since the phone call.

"No problem!" Atlas chirped and patted your back. "Now! I made breakfast! Ares was suppose to wake you up so you could eat but..." They shrugged. "Everyone else has eaten 'cept you. So now you need to eat!" They stood up and pulled you up once all your bitties scrambled to get off your lap. "You need some food now. I made bacon 'n eggs."

It took you a few minutes to finish the good amount of food on your plate. You still needed to call in for all of your saved up sick days. You could stay for a solid three weeks, but you only need two of those weeks. You still needed to find bags for the boys, and find your own bag. You nearly faced palmed at a random memory. You had forgotten to give the Swap and Fell brother's their acceptance presents. You had them hidden in your dresser though. You had forgotten completely about that! Once you finished breakfast, you rinsed your plate off and put it in the dishwasher.

"Hey, Atlas!" You called as you gathered up your things.

"Yeah?" They called back from the livingroom.

"See you in a couple of weeks! Call me when ever you want to!"

"Okay! Talk to you later fam-" They hopped up and ran over to you. They gave you a tight hug, and you smiled at them before leaving the house. You got into your car and began to drive to your apartment to get ready for you trip. You were going to bring the boys' washer and dryer as well as their bathtub/shower, and movable sink. You needed to wrap everything in bubble wrap and get out the bitties bags. Oh, you still need to give the newer four bitties they need.

"Are you okay?" Esper asked quietly from his spot on the dashboard.

"No." You gave him a weak smile. "But I'll be okay." He only sighed and looked at you with a worried expression. As you parked in your usual place you could feel the head ache trying to split your skull open. Your eyes even crossed a little out of discomfort. God, just what you needed. Pain on top of stress and anxiety. What fun. You gathered everyone up and closed your door. You slowy began making your way to the apartment complex's door.

Once you walked in, several people looked up from around the room. One little kid opened her mouth to say something, but her dad hushed her quickly. You didn't care, you just wanted to get home. You decided to use the elevator this time, you were in no mood to run up the stairs. When the elevator beeped, you jogged over to your door and unlocked it.

You walked into your apartment and relaxed. You had thankfully done the dishes before you left, now all you needed to do is sweep and mop your floors and do your laundry. But now you needed to get your bitties-foster bitties their 'Welcome' gifts. You set everyone on the counter and jogged to your room. You rustled around in your top dresser drawer and took out two bags. One of swap stuff and one of Fell stuff. You jogged back to the counter the boys were lounging on.

"Alright, before we leave I need to give you foster boys something to let me know you are with me." You began pulling things out of your 'Fell' bag and handed them out. You gave Hades an orange shirt with the text 'CAMP HALF-BLOOD' on it, and a small necklace that had a skull engrained in it. You gave Ares a thick jacket, much like the one he was wearing now, but newer and softer looking. It had a boar stitched into the back. Both bitties looked up at you with awe.

"THANK YOU, HUMAN." Hades finally managed as you got into your 'Swap' bag.

"Of course. I gave some similar stuff to those three. You four are no exception." You smiled gently and handed Wulfenite his items. You had gotten him a new hoodie, since his old one was pretty much falling apart at this point, and a necklace with a piece of wulfenite on it. You gave Sodalite a new pair of gloves and a necklace with a piece of sodalite hanging from it.

"i 'wulf' like to thank you for the 'sweat' gifts." Wulfenite chuckled as he put on his new hoodie.

"yeah, i thought today was going to be another 'boaring' day. but i guess i was wrong." Ares added. Only BellPepper looked slightly irritated at the puns, but he didn't say anything.

You beamed and clapped your hands together. "Alright then. Let's start packing then. We all need about a week's worth of clothes so whenever you all want to start packing, go right ahead. I'm going to start cleaning this place and washing my clothes." The boys nodded and most of them parted to go to your room while only Wulfenite and Ares stayed on the counter. They watched you bustle around th kitchen, trying to get everything put away.

"why did you take us in?" Wulfenite finally asked. You paused as you put a few cups away.

"Well, you four needed some help, whether you thought you did or not. Plus...it was really just a whim when I got you guys." You let out a breathy chuckle to yourself. "I wanted you guys to be happy."

"you ain't gonna make us stay here?" Ares chimed in. You felt your heart drop. You forgot what fostering meant. When they are deemed healthy enough to be put in another home, they have to leave.

"W-Well,". You said, wincing at the break in your voice. "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to. But, I wouldn't stop you all if you want to stay with me." You rubbed you temples with the heel of your palms.

"but you want us to stay, right?" Ares asked, edging closer to theedge of the counter.

"Well of course I do!" You mumble. "You guys are amazing! I couldn't imagine what my life would be like if you never came into my life!"

"you ain' just sayin' that?" Ares questions. You turned around and looked him dead in the eye.

"I would die if it meant keeping you guys safe." You have never said anything with more promise than that. Ares flushed brightly and broke eye contact first. He mumbled something and short cutting off the counter, with Wulf on his heels. You smiled to yourself and continued to clean.

It took you most of the day to get everything cleaned up. You had a break for lunch and made everyone sandwiches while you had some leftovers, then got back to cleaning. Your laundry was done, thankfully, by the time lunch was over and you began folding it. The boys' clothes were cleaned the day before yesterday so you didn't have to worry about cleaning their stuff at the moment. You started packing your own bag and thought about everything that has happened so far.

You've been through so much with your bitties. You honestly didn't want to give the foster bitties away. You wanted to adopt them even more now that you have gotten to know them.They've seen you cry, they've helped you laugh. They have done so much to help you now. You wanted nothing more than to keep them in your life for as long as possible. You smiled to your self as you wrapped the bitty stove in a pair of soft pygamas. You hoped they could help you through these two weeks while your mom was in the hospital. They didn't even have to do.much. They just had to be there with you. That's all you wanted. Once you finished you realized you still had to call your boss. Hopefully she wouldn't be too angry.

She wasn't angry at all, she was actually pretty chill. Which made you want to melt with relief. She had told you to not worry about it, and wished you luck on your trip. You counted all the boys' bags and nodded. Everything was ready. Now you need snacks for the ride. You got up and walked into the kitchen and began packing nearly all of your dry snacks. You would pack fruit later. You would have to wake up early tomorrow if you want to get to your parent's house before twelve o'clock in the morning.

"(Y/n)?" You heard Esper's voice from behind you.

"Yeah, Esp?" You hummed.

"We we're wondering where your family lives?" You nearly face palmed. Of course you forget to tell them!

"It's down south. They moved there when I left our house. They wanted to be closer to family. We'll be passing through the greatest places though. Great music and even better food." Your stomach rumbled at the thought. You chuckled to yourself. "Who else is hungry?" You asked, standing to make everyone dinner.

You loved your bitties. Your stress and anxiety was almost forgotten as you made dinner.


	20. Side-Quest: Bitties In Need

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

You forgot how much you hated your alarm clock. You wanted nothing more than to crush it with a sledge hammer. You sluggishly removed yourself from your bed, carefully extracting all of your bitties in the process. You needed a shower, and to get everything packed away into your car. You snatched up some clothes and went into your bathroom to get cleaned up for the day.

When you left the bathroom, you saw all your boys already dressed and ready to go. But they all looked really drowsy still. You began gently scooping up bitty by bitty. You walked out of your room with all of your bitties draped over your arms and shoulders. You merely giggle at them tiredly. You spread them around the counter evenly as you got out fruit for breakfast.

You had enough to make snacks for the road and breakfast. So you cut up a pear and peeled an two oranges for the boys. You passed out the separated varied fruits and munched on your own apple while you began packing everything up and lining bags up by the door. The boys had their own little line on the counter. Thank the Stars for Ethyls, he thought of everything. Given that your fosters have bags.

Once you finished you meager breakfast, you started gathering everything up. Thank god that you were a light traveler, you didn't have much that you didn't need. So there was a perk right there. Plus, even with bitties, you could put their luggage in the glove box and it would be safer in there than the actual trunk. You threw all of the paper plates away as your bitties finished. They all still looked tired so you snatched the softest blanket from the couch and made a little nest out of it.

"Alright everyone. Grab your bags and hop on, we're leaving now." You grinned at them. You had turned off nearly everything in your home, so you knew you were ready to get a move on. You glanced at the clock. 5:12 am. Already early. Perfect.

"HEY! I WANT TO GET IN FIRST!" Sodalite's highly irritated voice snapped you into attention.

"sorry baby blue." Ares grunted and curled into the soft nest. "i got 'ere first." You sighed and looked at the two.

"No fighting please. The blanket is for when we get into the car. Ares, you're going to have to carry your own bag." You looked sternly at the Edgy. He stared at you back defiantly before growling and heaving himself up to grab his tiny duffel bag. He glared daggers at Sodalite when he thought you weren't looking. You just rolled your eyes, at least they weren't fist fighting.

You filed everyone onto your arms and shoulders, then grabbed your bags and left your home. You locked the doors and made your way to your car. You were kind of sad that you were leaving your home for a solid two weeks. But that sadness vanished when you realized you were going to see and help your family that needed you. You walked a little faster after that.

You unlocked your car and popped the trunk to get all of your stuff put away, then you put everyone in the passenger side seat to get their bags in the glove box. You plopped the snack bag on the floor of the passenger seat and nearly buckled up until you realized the back of the trunk was still wide open. You cursed quietly to yourself and hopped out of your seat to close it. You checked to see if anything was missing, and was relieved to find someone only took your reusable plastic bags. Ebbot was a strange place, but not everyone was absolutely horrible.

You got back in and pointedly ignored your bitty's snickering as you buckled up and remade the nest they would be sleeping in. Finally, you pulled up your GPS and started off on your trip. You had put on the AUX cord for your car and played songs that you had on your phone. No one ever complained about your taste of music, so you kept listening to it. It was early in the morning, so barely anyone was on the streets. Everyone was mostly quiet. Wulfenite was still reading the book from before, BellPepper and Soda were playing a game on your 'bitty' phone, and everyone else was asleep in the nest. Well, except Esper who was curled around your neck. You were pretty sure he was asleep, but you couldn't tell.

It took a while to finally get out of the city and into the rural county surrounding Ebbot. The boys had obviously never seen any place as deserted as this, since BellPepper and Sodalite ditched the game to look out the window. Wulfenite had also looked away from his book and stared out the window in awe. You felt a small smile tug at your lips as you look back at the road. You felt that warm feeling in your chest at the comfortable silence. Everyone seemed comfortable.

You have been driving for six hours now. You had been sipping on some water throughout driving, and your bladder was just now beginning to turn on you. You were looking for any exit that can get you to a gas station at the moment. Once you found it, you got on it and found yourself in a small cozy town. You immediately pulled your car into the nearest gas station and parked your car. You not only need to go to the bathroom, but you needed gas too. Plus, it was lunch time anyways. A good time to stop and have lunch and stretch out.

"Time to load up everyone!" You say and scoop up BellPepper and Sodalite, who had been asleep for a couple of hours in the nest. Everyone else piles on as you grab the bag full of food. You walk them out to a mostly clean table out in the grass and set them down, you made sure to take Esper off your shoulders. You unpack all of the bitty's food and passed it out to everyone. You finally finished and took a deep breath in.

"Alright. I'm gonna go to the bathroom. You all just stay here and wait for me please. I'll be as fast as possible, I swear." They nodded and dug into their lunches as you sped walked into the shop for the bathroom. You were relieved that such a tiny shop had one, even if it was only one stall, it was a bathroom nonetheless.

When you finished with your human business and washed your hands, you walked outside feeling much more at ease. You turned the corner to get to the table that you left your bitties at and saw two kids sitting at the table as well, eating what seemed like their own lunches. You smiled at them and sat down with your bitties and your stuff. BellPepper greeted you happily and pushed your lunch over to you.

"SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A GREAT DRIVER!" He stated proudly, and went back to his own lunch.

"Thank you, Pepper." You hummed and dug into your sandwich. You all ate in a good amount of time. You had given all the boys little cups for water. Ares apparently found the mustard packets you have been hiding in the lunch bag, so he was drinking that instead of the water you had given him. You chuckled and shook your head. Ares was such a nut, honestly. You were cast away from your musings when someone tugged on the back of your shirt. You turned around to see a little boy with a younger looking girl behind him. They both looked quite young to you. The boy had a confident expression while the little girl looked kind of scared/worried.

"Me and my little sister would like to pet your bitties!" The little boy crowed. His sister leaned in and whispered something in his ear. He huffed slightly and shuffled his feet a bit. "Please?" You looked at your boys with a surprised expression, and silently noted the two people sitting beside you were watching the interaction. One was a teenage looking boy and a slightly younger mini-me of him.

"Um, you know you can just ask who ever you would like to pet." You said kindly. You hoped these kids' parents weren't awful people. You saw the boy lock eyes with Ares, who started sweating nervously. The Edgy looked up at you and very slightly shook his head. You nodded a bit. You softly scooped him up and set him on your shoulders. "Everyone except this guy. He bites when he gets too anxious or nervous." The little boy pouted, then looked directly at Wulfenite.

The little girl was looking at Turtle, who had shrugged at you.

"Um," The little girl started. "Hi little Sansy. I'm Winter." She smiled at Turtle. "What's your name?"

"i'm turtle." The Sansy winked. "don't be too cool, kid. i'm already chilled to the bone." It was relatively warm for fall, but he saw her heavy jacket. Winter giggled and stared up at him.

"Can I hold you?"

"sure, just don' get cold feet an' drop me. okay kid?" Winter nodded rapidly and cupped her hands so Turtle could walk onto her palms. She gasped a little when she saw his jacket. 

"I really like your jacket!" She squeaked. "Turtle's are my favorite animal. I really like Crush, from Finding Nemo." Turtle nodded and gave you a confused sideways glance. You merely shrugged a shoulder.

Winter's brother had picked up Wulfenite, and was petting his head with a finger, asking about his cracks in his skull.

The teen across from you cleared his throat and smiled a bit at you. "Could we hold some you your bitties too?" He seemed nervous, but he was really curious. "I mean, I could ask them, heheh." He let out a nervous chuckle and looked down at Esper. "Can I hold you please?" 

"Why of course!" Esper beamed at the teen and slithered over to him. You started to put the empty containers back in the Lunch bag. "My name is Esper. What is ypur name?" They teen picked Esper up softly.

"Uh, I'm Quill. And this is my little brother, Philip." Philip waved enthuiastically at the Krait.

"Nice to meet you both!" Esper chriped and purred as Quill rubbed his head.

"Papy." Philip says and BellPepper perks up. Pepper practically skipped over to the little boy and stepped onto his out stretched hands. "HELLO LITTLE PHILIP!" He boomed happily. Philip's grin widened and he looked over at Hades.

"Papy!" He insisted.

"You mean Bossy." Quill corrected. him. "He thinks all Papyrus bitties are Papys." He apologized to Hades.

"IT IS FINE. BUT I LOOK MUCH COOLER THAN BELLPEPPER." Hades puffed out his chest and walked over to Philip as well. BellPepper just rolled his eyes as Hades joined him. You smiled and wondered why no one was asking to hold Sodalite.

"ey, get off blue. go on the other side." Ares snapped quietly.

"Well I'm Sorry I Don't Want To Get Slobbered On." Sodalite hissed back, clearly not in the mood. Ah, he didn't want to be touched by kids. You could respect that.

"Winter, James!" A woman's voice called. "Make sure you tell Quill and Philip they are riding with us!" You cringed slightly as the woman walked over to the table. "Oh." She blinked with surprise. You stared back at her and noticed the Mamba on her shoulder.

"Um, hello." You waved a bit at her. "Your kids wanted to, uh, hold my bitties." You picked at your finger nails.

"That's...." She paused and scratched the Mamba's head, she beamed. "So kind of you! Dutch doesn't like to be held by anyone else other than me. Of course they want to hold some bitties! Everyone!" She got the kids' attention easily. They all looked up. "We are leaving! Quill, Philip, your riding with us. We're almost there. Tell the lady and her bitties thank you."

"Thank you!" Winter and James said at the exact same time and gently set Wulfenite and Turtle down.

"Yeah, thank you a lot Miss, and Esper." Quill grinned and set Esper down. "C'mon Phil. We're almost at the reunion." Philip huffed and stiffened. His eyes got a little teary. You cringed, expecting the worst. But Philip just hugged Hades and BellPepper and sniffed a little, wiping his eyes. He let the bitties go and waved at them sadly. Quill smiled and picked his brother up and made there way over to the lady with the Mamba.

"Bye Bitty Lady!" Philip called. You just smiled.

"That was...unexpected." You commented when the kids were out of hearing range.

"i'll say." Wulfenite sighed. "this james kid did research on 'lil bros. it was kinda creepy how he knew everything he did."

"At least he didn't try to keep you." You mumbled and rubbed your own face. "Alright, we need to get a move on. We still have a long ways to go. And we still need gas." You started picking your bitties back up and grabbed your bag. You put everyone in the car and put the bag behind your seat. You got into the driver's seat and backed into an open pump. You parked the car and turned it off. Then hopped out to put the gas in your car.

Once you finished and paid, you were once again on your way back to the main road that will bring you to the South, where you grew up. You didn't miss the awful summers at all, but you did miss the nostalgia from your childhood home. You missed all of your friends that stayed down there you where lucky that Levi had came to Ebbot a year after you. But you missed Evan and Charley. You missed Joan and Kayley. You had a small friend group, but they were all close to you. 

"Hey (y/n)." Ares called from the window. "open the window, will ya? I wanna smell what's outside." You chuckled at his excitement.

"Stand back first, I don't want you flying out." You rolled the window when he stepped back. The wind whipped around, you glanced when you saw movement on the dashboard. Wulfenite yelped when he slid from the dash to the floor boards. The book he had been holding hit the widow edge and tumbled out, into the speeding by ground. You let out a cry of surprise and a laugh. You slowed to a stop and parked on the edge of the road. Wulf looked embarassed where he stood.

"Are you alright, Wulf?" You helped him up, still trying to not laugh.

"yeah." He mumbled sheepishly, looking away. You petted his skull and shook your own. You got out of the car and trekked up the road, finding the paper back face down. It had scratches but looked mostly fine. You jogged back to your car, branishing the book, grinning. Wulfenite gave you a weak thanks and you petted his head again.

"It's okay." You mused, going into drive and speeding off. "No more dash reading, for you." You sighed and rolled the window up, but enough for a bit of wind to go through.

"agreed." He nodded and pushed the book away from him, and curled up in the nest.

"not gonna read, wulf?" Ares started, grinning sharply.

"don't," Wulfenite huffed, not in the mood anymore.

"aw, c'mon-" Ares looked like he was about to tell the worst joke.

"Ares, be nice." You cut in, not wanting a fight. It felt like you were getting in between a fight among siblings.

"i am being nice." Ares protested, pouting he couldn't say what ever joke he wanted to. 

"Give him some space, that probably spooked him." You shook your head. 

Thankfully the Edgy left him alone. You reached over and stroked Wulf's back with your knuckle. He didn't react, you hoped he would be alright. Everyone started drifted back to the nest, Soda sat with his brother though. Since you didn't want to stop for dinner so close to your check point, you gave everyone a snack and ate a granola bar yourself. You all were going to be eating late, but none of them seemed to mind. Ares and Hades actually migrated over to your shoulders, not minding sharing your shoulder with Esper. You actually forgot the three were there for a while.

You would have liked to watch the sun set to your left, but, you would rather not crash and get your bitties killed in the process. Though, BellPepper took a picture of it for you to show you later. You were grateful for that. You drove until the sun disappeared below the horizon. You drove until your stomach growled. You glanced at the clock installed in your car and sighed. 12:09. Your eyes ached, and your head pounded. The boys were already asleep in the nest. Hades and Ares were asleep on your shoulders. You hated that you were so tired. Then you recognized a word on a sign. Memphis.

You have never been more happy to see that one word. Freaking finally. You made your way to the city of jazz and arrived sooner than you expected to. You saw all the light still flashing. You beamed when you saw everyone else wake up a bit an look at all of the neon lights on stores. The scent of cooked food made you even more hungry than you already were. You parked, and shuffled around in your purse for your wallet.

But you see something odd as you rummage around for it. Someone just threw something onto the ground and spat into the grass. You furrowed your eyebrows and got out of your car, stumbling slightly with your numb legs and tired eyes. You looked at what he threw at the ground, and was horrified to see two bitties in front of you. That man had just tossed out a Mutt and Raspberry bitty.


End file.
